Sports & Work

FINALLY!! Belle Agility Videos

Maxs Mom — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:04:43 GMT

Here is Belle! These runs are from this past weekend. On Saturday she Q'd in jumpers finished her MJP, then we NQ'd in standard (DOH! guess whose fault) On Sunday she QQ'd, with wins in both her classes. She does run preferred. Check out the air on Sunday in her standard run over the double and triple. LOL That is why we named her "Casino Farm's Belle Air".

Saturday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8r9QaYGg4Y

Sunday:
Standard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RInLkrXWc0

Jumpers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Rxa7riQM4

HERE'S TEDDI!!!!

Maxs Mom — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:07:23 GMT

Here is Teddi at her FIRST CPE trial. This was her first class. DH accidentally recorded over her zoomies and her jumpers Q! They were special. Oh well.

Here's my little (well not really little) wild child. Not bad for all she has gone through. That is why we do CPE she can jump 16" or 12".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOSmscWCMe0

Training the ACD to work cows?

Rusty's Momma — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:23:44 GMT

I have a 7 month old ACD pup. He has incredible herding instinct and has proved most helpful while moving our cattle. Since we'll be expanding our beef cattle operation, he could prove to be a useful tool and co-worker. He is currently working well simply from instinct, but I want to train him better to fine-tune his natural skills. However, I'm in Vermont and most folks around here don't even know what ACDs are..."what is he? a mutt?" then when I tell them, they're like "oh yeah, australian shepard - he looks different though..." yah, duh, because they're not one in the same!

So - I need tips on how to train Rusty to be a working dog from command, as well as instinct. Does anyone have any tips or recommendations for trainers that I could work with via e-mail/phone, etc.? I tried the AKC website but couldn't find anyone near me.

AG Vids

jdata — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:46:02 GMT

Plank work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXKLgezuOYs
Weave work, there is a timed version of it as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eeyh3ogPZg
timed weaveshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bxQEgxBY2c

I do have class vid up there too..

Nikon brags!

Liesje — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:53:14 GMT

Nikon got his CGC on 10/24! He had passed 9/10 items in July (10 months old) but the 3 minute separation has been the thorn in our side. Before our second try, we spent more time working on that exercise than all other nine combined! I still owe Nikon a new Kong that I promised...

On 10/17 he got his first SG ("sehr gut" = very good) rating at a show in Illinois from SV Koermesiter Hans-Peter Fetten of Germany. The SG rating is the highest rating a dog 1-2 years old can receive, so it replaces his puppy VP ("very promising") ratings. Show picture (he's stacked a little post-y and the ground slopes down in that ring so he looks more roached than he is):

He's also doing great in Schutzhund. Our first track was mid-July and he is now doing Schutzhund 2 length tracks with 2-4 corners. No articles yet but we've started those at home. The Schutzhund article indication *must* be a down with the object between the front paws, so we are training this behavior separately doing basic positive reinforcement. His obedience is also really coming along. I've taught him all the positions, finishes, recall, out of motion exercises, etc, just working on the insanely long heel pattern for the BH and fading the rewards. In protection he has made huge HUGE strides over the past 2-3 months. He was doing great for a while, but then when we tried to transfer from the rags to the sleeve, he did not really see a sleeve as a prey object. He has insane prey drive for his ball and toys, but in protection, it needs to be "real". In my opinion, this is good, because I'd rather have a dog that is serious and real in his courage and protection than one that is only obsessed with the sleeve as a prey object and sees it as a game. Luckily, I have a great helper who knows how to work this kind of dog without using too much pressure too soon. Two weekends ago, Nikon went in the blind for the first time and was a little conflicted since it was a new thing and also a new thing for me with the line handling involved. Yesterday the helper setup a back-tie to take inexperienced line handling out of the equation and got the result he was looking for from Nikon. He came in with some really serious aggression. The helper said the routine is now changing so that instead of him kicking the dog's butt, the dog is ready to come in and kick his butt. He is no longer biting to quickly win the sleeve but is bringing the fight and keeping it there. What also impressed me is that this was the first time the helper has asked me to "sit" my dog (which means he has to sit AND be quiet) before sending him and Nikon did the best of all the dogs, including his titled mother! Self-control is not exactly Nikon's strong suit so I was not expecting much but he pulled it off.

Video from yesterday's bitework, Nikon is 2:07 - 3:12 (and his mother is Kira, the first dog): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tle-wC0aRtY

True Service Dogs?

denise m — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:21:39 GMT

I came across this column in the paper today. Thought some of you who have or train service dogs might find it interesting. It was in response to a fellow who wanted to train a huskey-malamute X as a sevice dog.

I have to say I think your question is moot. Unless the service you're looking to provide is eating fish and pulling a sled I'd say you're looking at the wrong breed.

A husky or malamute are to the service dog world what a golden retriever is to the sled dog world. Your current dog (husky/malamute/lab) is most likely drawing on the Lab genes to perform its duties. I don't know of any true service dog training organization that even considers huskies or malamutes.

Lately it seems if you can sew up a vest and it says service dog nobody says anything. I was at a conference this year where a 'service' dog spent the weekend rifiling through people's bags, agitating other dogs, wandering away at every opportunity. This was not an isolated experience. I've seen biting, growling, snapping, running away etc., by 'service' dogs. I'm seeing more and more dogs without the temperament or the training of a legitimate service dog being called service dogs by people unqualified to say so, let alone select and train one.

The whole service animal situation is getting out of hand. I'm not sure where the lines should be drawn and who should do it, but somebody needs to. Generally speaking we're seeing dogs of questionable temperaments 'certified' by ill-qualified dog trainers, rather that approved associations demanding access to places their dog has no place ebing. No one speaks up probably out of fear of having the politically correct crowd twisting, "I don't want an ill-behaved animal in my place of business," to "I hate the disabled," or "I hate animals".

I don't hate animals or the disabled or disabled animals or disabled people that behave like animals. I do, however, hate the abandonment of common sense particularly when it jeopardizes the legitimacy of true service dogs. A while back I saw a news piece about a woman who insisted proximity to her horse was necessary to maintain her mental equilibrium and she rode it everywhere, even into the grocery store. I don't care if she's riding Mr. Ed. I'd carry her on my back before I'd agree to let her walk a flatulent horse through the vegetable aisle.

A proper service animal's purpose is to contribute to the health and safety of the owner. However, not at the expense of the general public. Service dog candidates need to be selected by a specialized professional. "many are called, few are chosen" applies. Their obedience training must include a minimum standard that isn't so minimum.

A service dog should not mean, "I own a dog, I have a need and I've found someone that has trained a few dogs in an unrelated discipline to certify my dog.

True service dogs are very important and this airy-fairy definition of service aor assistance dog is sooner or later going to reflect poorly on legitimate service dog trainers and owners, if not get someone seriously hurt.

So is that true about breeds like the husky or malamute - no suitable? Is there a lowing of standards when it comes to certifying service dogs?

Lilys sar training progress

Jewlieee — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:00:33 GMT

Just in case anyone is interested...about 4 weeks ago I took lily to a sar training session. They tested her personality: how she was with people and dogs, how she reacted to a variety of things, her obedience, etc. Passing that, they tested her potential as a wilderness air scent dog, she passed the test and they said she would be trainable but she did lack some excitement about it. They tested her on human remains and she passed with flying colors. It was very obvious that this came naturally easy for her. So there it is: I'm training her for human remains detection.

The first week, I spent imprinting her on a human bone and teeth. I need to finish my hep B shots before I can work with anything else. Anyway, the 2nd week I placed the bone inside a suet cage in the living room and told lily to "get to work". When she sniffed it, I did a c/t. Eventually I worked up to an indication that she will use when she finds something: a paw touch.

3rd week, I took the items outside but out in the open. She did really well.

Tonight I put 6 bricks out and teeth in on of the bricks. I made her sniff each brick. She found the brick with the teeth and pawed it. I then reordered the bricks and added a few more and we went through it again. She got it right away. Finally I put the teeth in a mesh bag and threw it in a flower bed. Lily checked the bricks then sniffed out the teeth in the flower bed. Lily wins again.

She seems to have a lot of potential and can pick out a bone and teeth pretty easily. Our challenge now is to work with animal distractions. She failed miserably at this at our group training sessions. Rolling in dead animal stuff was more exciting than working. I'm open to brainstorming ideas! So far the best food motivator has been turkey.

How about tracking???

poodleOwned — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:18:31 GMT

Hi All,

My number one dog sport is tracking. I thought that it would be interesting to tell you about Australian Tracking and swap some notes.

Here, we do seven tracks to get Tracking Champion with TD and TDX on the way. Tch is 2 acutes, at least 6 turns, 2 x tracks, 3 articles,1200M could be any kind of farm/bush terrain. We have just started with TSD (tracking and search dog ) tracks, but i am ressiting the temptation until my girl has achieved a couple more obedience goals.

My greatest ever doggy moment was tracking my then 13 1/2 year old Labrador to a TCh. I had retired him as we missed a few years becuase i ws quite il. I basically took him out one day, 2 years after retirement, and he tracked like he had nevr finished. I worked on his physical condition, and did tracks 4-7. He did his last track in 10 minutes, for those that don't know, that is quick. I did nothing other than hang on for his last track..

As you can see form my signature, my 3 1/2 year old mini poodle is also a tracking champ, achieved a year ago.

So what is tracking like there? What are your proudest moments ?

Anyone do weight pull (video)

KarissaKS — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:51:34 GMT

Does anyone here do any weight pulling with their dog(s)?

It's gaining in popularity amongst the Alaskan Klee Kai folks, so I thought I'd give it a go with Kaiser. There is a big UKC event coming up July 11 & 12 that is offering weight pull (along with conformation, obedience & rally) and that will be Kaiser's first pulling event. I got his harness about a month ago and training has been going well. At first he freaked out at the harness hitting his back legs, so he's come a long way!

Here's a video of our training session last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ4R80ldWWU

Z got her AD today!!

stardog85 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:51:29 GMT

Ziva is now Stardog's Can't Take the Sky, AD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This weekend was our 3rd trial (3rd and 4th days of trialling) and Z did just wonderfully.

RESULTS

Saturday
Starters Snooker: 1st and Q, time of 42.73 and 40 points
Grand Prix: NQ - handler error (I got lost big time lol)
Starters Standard: 2nd and Q, time of 49.17, SCT of 71; we placed second to our Pairs partner by only .61s!
Starters Gamblers: 1st and Q, time of 42.57 and 49 points, 24 points required for Q

Sunday
Starters Gamblers: 1st and Q, time of 43.33 and 38 points (17 points to Q)
Starters Standard: 1st and Q, time of 48.2, SCT of 71
Starters Pairs: 1st and Q, time of 25.36 and no faults with required time+faults of 76! Our team was 1st out of ALL the Starters Pairs by almost 40 seconds!
Starters Jumpers: 1st and Q, time of 22.55, SCT of 33

I'm soooooooo proud of my girl! It's so much fun to run her - she likes to do agility for the sport of it, not just for the reward at the end.

Duck hunting

zatchbell322 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:14:31 GMT

DH wants to hunt duck this season with Lex. Lex has never hunted anything before, but he has high drive. I think he would be perfect to teach. I read a little info online and everything has been from puppy hood and on. Lex will be 3 in December. Is it possible just to teach him some basics? It will just be for fun of course, we aren't expecting him to be a champion duck hunter or anything. So any recomendations on books or websites? Thanks!

Teddi's Big Adventure!

Maxs Mom — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:16:55 GMT

She had her first agility trial this weekend. We entered her in a CPE trial and she had a BLAST!!! Sometimes too much fun LOL. She did 4 classes, Q'd and won two, NQ'd in two but she had a GREAT time NQ'ing and visiting all the people inside and out side of the ring! She had to acknowledge her "fans". LOL She Q'd in her first and last classes so I was THRILLED she came back for the last class, focused and stayed with me jumping the course.

I hope to find more CPE trials we can attend. I don't really want to wait until next spring.There is a facility nearby that has them almost every month but their flooring is too hard with Teddi's elbows. I want to keep her outside, on dirt or on good soccer flooring. I looked at the list of upcoming events but none have any information on the venues. So if I find one within a reasonable driving distance, I guess I will write the club for venue information.

We chose CPE because there are plenty of classes she can do and not have to do an A frame, and because of her size we can run enthusiast and get the fences down to 16". She can even play at 12" but I think that is TOO low for her. She just runs over the top of that, 16" is low for her too, but again I worry about her elbows. She wants to play, but I want to try to keep her as sound as I can for as long as I can. She had SUCH a good time this weekend.

It was my first time with CPE trying to learn all the games and there nuances was challenging but I had a great time. I think when Belle is done with AKC, because she already runs preferred I can't get her to a lower division. I may do some CPE with her so she can still play but lower jumps. It is a nice venue, and the host club this weekend were INCREDIBLY nice.

Delphi is going herding!

Xeph — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:15:52 GMT

With Geary Loff ^_^ We're going tomorrow at 7:30 PM

I'm hoping beyond hope she turns on to the sheep...

Sandy's first trial

oranges81 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:12:05 GMT

We placed 4th!!

It was only an inhouse compitition and we weren't there for the ribbons. Just training but after 1 extremely good run, and 3 really bad runs, we walked away with 4th place.

I'm happy with that and now know what needs work for next summer.

Herding Instinct Test

Liesje — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:46:38 GMT

Both my boys passed with flying colors! They were every bit as good as the Border Collie before them (with slightly more confidence and slightly less obedience for the "stranger" handler).

Video of Nikon:
http://www.vimeo.com/5554641

(Coke also had a video but it's slightly out of focus and looks pretty much the same except he barks a bit more)

He put that white one right back!

Coke belongs on a farm. He went directly to the cool dirt under the pick-up.

Coke did great, considering we have no idea what he is, and he doesn't show much motivation for other forms of training involving food or toys.

Nikon went after those sheep like he has been waiting for this every second of his young life (I supposed he has and he just didn't know it, considering his motherline kennel)

Weaves Again

Maxs Mom — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:19:15 GMT

Belle is doing great in agility but one can always improve certain skills. I have a few weeks until our next trial so I thought I would work on our weaves more. She has greatly improved and at home is doing the side to side behavior, I want her to show me that at trials but more than that I need to work on BOTH of us being less dependent on the other in the weaves.

I feel if I don't babysit her she won't complete them (miss the last pole) So I was wondering if anyone here had some good suggestions of exercises I can work on while we have some time before the next trial. I can really work for a few weeks then back off as the trial approaches so I don't put 'too' much pressur on her.

What I need are exercises where she does them more or less by her self allowing me to stay further away, and even perhaps move out to position for the next obstacle. I would love a dog who I can say "go weave" from basically anywhere and she hunts them down and does them. I know that will take more than a few weeks but the idea of that goal is where I want to begin.

Thanks!

It's a Double!!!

Maxs Mom — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:49:26 GMT

WOO HOO!!!

Belle got her first double - double Q this weekend!!!! I am so proud of her! She won both her jumpers runs, and was second in both her standard runs. I am hoping to qualify for AKC Nationals in Tulsa in March 2010, she only needs one more double Q (now has 5 needs 6) to get in and she has until the end of the year. This is the first year they are allowing preferred dogs to qualify! She was so incredible.

It was funny we took a month agility break. She worked so hard May into June so I would not even let her practice until last Monday. On Sat she got nervous. I could tell by her ears. She ran great, but she was nervous. Even my trainer said she was high jumping again. Belle always jumps high but when she is worried she jumps REALLY high. We both just needed to get back out there. She was fine after that first run.

So much fun!

How do I teach my dog to jump into the water?

jamielsmith17 — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:18:33 GMT

I have a two year old Newfie, so obviously he already loves the water. However, he won't jump in. If I take him to a creek and he can't just walk into the water, we have to wander around until we find a place where he can. This is especially frustrating because there is a section that is deep enough for him to swim, but I can't get him in because he won't jump. And I know he would love to swim there. Does anyone have suggestions on how to teach him to jump into the water? He doesn't really play with toys much, so throwing a toy into the water will not make him go get it.

4th of July done my way

2bully — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:39:02 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IlSth5FZRA

Some of my girlfriend's dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_X1xk7gg_c

Talk about sheep herding...

beauceron.niobe — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:46:15 GMT

I think this is a super sport/work. Herding dogs are all around the world, mostly they work with sheep but some of them with cattle, goat ...etc
Shepherd breeds had become the most intelligent breeds of the dogs. They are multifunctional, had a strong contact with they owner and for centuries shepherds were selected the clever dogs, because they must know many different command and just that dog could do the task who understanding it.

Today sheep herding is not too popular, and many shepherd (cattle) breed doesn't do this sport even if they carries it in they name.

So if anyone has photos of herding dogs then show it and write about

And for the beginning here are some photos of a GSD who's won many herding competitions:

Agility Brag

tashakota — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:31:54 GMT

So Kota and I went to a trial this past weekend and we ran 6 runs, 3 on Sat and 3 on Sun. USDAA too. We're in P3 now and we ran Gamblers, Snooker and Jumpers on Sat, and Perf. National Standard, Snooker and Jumpers on Sun. We did not get the gamble on Sat but he ran with me and ran so very nice through the opening, I was so happy! Then in Snooker, I cued badly and he took a tunnel out of sequence. Oops. In Jumpers, he got 2nd with a Q! Whoopeee! On Sun, he blew his contacts in PNS which shocked me and then I was behind so we got whistled off. At least he was running "with" me and fast (hence the blown contacts) and didn't get distracted. Then in Snooker we got 3 6's and didn't make it through 7 which was a split set of 6 weaves each with a tunnel in between. He ran great and fast and he got the first 6 but the horn went off on our way to the other 6. Then in Jumpers, I almost screwed him up by getting turned around on a twisty turny course but managed to get my butt in the right place and we got 3rd and another Q!

Yippee!!! We now have 2 P3 Snooker legs and 3 P3 Jumpers legs. Now if we can get the contact and weave thing under control, we'll be golden!

Sport Books & Videos

Workingdoglover — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:52:18 GMT

Anyone know of any good ones? I'm looking for mainly schutzhund stuff, but anything that might relate would be cool. I can't wait to get the Michael Ellis vidoes that are supposed to be coming out. Ugh! But anyhoo, just curious if anyone has seen any good videos that they'd recommend. More looking for the videos than books, but I'm always up for a good book.

Tracking and Scent Work - Can it be self taught?

YellowOx — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:51:09 GMT

Do you need to go to a class or trainer to teach tracking and scent work, or can you do it yourself with books/internet/DVD's?

Obviously if you want to do it formally/competitively you would need to be getting expert tuition.

But if you just want to try it out to have fun with your dog and see how it goes, is it possible and is there a good book/guide to help you start?

Sheep Training Videos - Really Nice

brookcove — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:52:49 GMT

My friend Denise put several videos up which show the progress of a young Border Collie from 8 months to 22 months, in sheepdog training. It's a little technical but pretty easy to follow with the video. The last ones are really awesome even if you don't have an interest in sheepdog training at all. They are beautifully shot and Denise's voice, both narrating and while speaking to her dog, is very lovely and nice to listen to.

The first one is here:

Starting May's training - eight months old - http://vimeo.com/5237059

Follow the links to the rest of them, in order of May's age.

Note how it's generally Denise's choice to set May up for success, and make something easy, rather than forcing her to do it, or punishing May until she does it to avoid aversive pressure.

Teaching Fetch

oranges81 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:16:20 GMT

Ok.. I've NEVER owned a dog that played fetch.. Ever.. Weird huh? Lol.
But I'm wanting to build a ball drive in both my dogs. Mostly Sandy since she couldn't care less about toys in general.. Some days I wonder if I got a defective JRT. Lol.

Now I've got two new Sandy sized balls on hold at the petstore so I can get them next week but how do I go about teaching Fetch? Maze will chase the ball then that's it.. She won't grab it, won't bring it back.. Nothing.

I know they need more daily exercise besides just their walks but they just won't play outside.. HELP!