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alligande

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Everything posted by alligande

  1. I have had two dogs suffer from the loss of a friend, Jester like your Kit was an old lady when she lost her partner of 10 years, they were a miss matched pair, he was a border collie, she was a GSD/beagle mix. After he died she just mopped, but what heart breaking was every time she saw another dog she would waddle after them just looking for company. After 3 months we decided to get another dog, and ended up with Brody, she hated him a 3 year border collie was not what she wanted, but she snapped out of her depression almost immediately, he was at least company. When Brody died young, Rievaulx had only known life with him and he was really miserable but this time we could not get him a new friend as we already knew we were moving to Europe, so it had to be time, and it was at least 6 months till he started to bounce back,
  2. Another thought is that I think she is beating US agility up, what I think she is talking about is AKC agility, I competed in USDAA and NADAC and both venues have great atmospheres although very different, but in both I saw lots of people having loads of fun with their dogs. At one USDAA/NADAC location the bar was often open in the late afternoon, although I have never been offered a shot in the US. In Spain there is a lot of beer consumed, there are more men than women competing.
  3. I don't know if it is the exception as I compete in Spain and have yet to travel far to compete. But what is important is that the competition she is talking about is not run under FCI, but is a true open. This means that everyone is there to have fun, and nothing counts so of course you are going to go flat out ... A clean round without speed means nothing. As an example in Spain it takes 9qs to move between grade 2 and 3 and they all have to be obtained in one year. I can't remember the number of Qs needed but in holland you have to maintain your grade 3 position ... Other wise back down you go. In Spain I have seen people play with their dogs and have fun, and I have seen others be shits. I don't believe you can take a toy in the ring in FCI, if the judge allows it you can get away with limited training, I saw the same thing when we went to volunteer at the WAO try outs lots of people using the opportunity to train their young dogs, but when the FCI trial started there were no more toys. So what she is describing is a one off event - not a regular sanctioned weekend of agility.
  4. A friend and I have just been chatting about this, we both agree that she is comparing apples to oranges. Spain has a superb international open that has a laid back party vibe, which sounds like what she was at. At the regular trials I have gone to there is the same striving for points to move up, points to get to championship and some of the same grumpy attitude to their dogs.
  5. I fully agree with Julie, I have friends and family spread all over the globe and Facebook provides an easy way to stay in touch. I am a horrendous letter writer, and never send cards, and so over the years I have lost touch with some very good friends. The Facebook groups I have had the most use for are the buy/sell variety which have helped me out of the last few years of moving. Facebook also helped me network to find my super little puppy, I would never have found him without as he was bred privately and was not advertised.
  6. I guess I will go and buy some crushed pineapple and give it ago, he only eats one proper meal a day so hopefully that will be enough to discourage him, don't worry I am not starving him he gets his other meals as training treats. He has no interest in the other dogs poop, and when we are out walking will give strange dogs poop a sniff (in spain people are not very good at picking up especially on walks in parks and the country) and I don't think the type of food is the problem as I have changed that since coming to Spain. If the pineapple doesn't work I will try and find the other stuff.
  7. Since we brought Fenway home he has a taste for his own poop. When we were in the UK it was easy to stop as all his bathroom time was outside with us, we were staying at my mothers apartment so there was no yard to let him roam in so we made sure he never got a chance to indulge. Since we came back to Spain and live in a house where the doors are wide open onto the terrace all the time it has become more of a challenge, we pick up as soon as we see it, but as he is free to come and go we are not always instantly aware that he has pooped. At 4 months old he is effectively house trained and only peed in the house once since we came home a month ago, and with the heat he is a very mellow puppy during the day so does not spend much time in his crate. Any one have any successful solutions?
  8. What a great birthday present, I hope she continues to grow as a dog and you can have all sorts of adventures together.
  9. He is looking very much like a border collie now. At 2 I thought my dog had a lovely silky coat with a minimum of under coat by 3 he has the same silky coat but a very heavy under coat. He was done growing at just over one but continued to fill out until over 3.
  10. "Pet" bred border collies can be just as reactive to motion as a working bred collie, and a working bred collie can be thoughtful and calm. At the moment I have 3 border collies in my house all from different backgrounds: The house guest is a pet/sports bred dog who is insane and horribly motion reactive My dog who is a rescue who came from a backyard farm breeding in Pensylvannia who is mildly reactive to motion, he has particular hatred of large diesel trucks with a certain pitch And my 4 month old ISDS puppy who is the calmest dog in the house, watches everything, but approaches everything very thoughtfully. In my agility club in Spain we have 5 puppies under 9 months, 2 are UK bred working dogs the other 3 are either show or sports bred, the 2 working bred are the calmest. You want to look for parents that are calm, thoughtful dogs, ask around, finding a good border collie in the UK is a much easier proposition than in the US where there is a very high percentage of dogs bred that not intended to be working dogs.
  11. Where I live we have two types of evil grass, one that is like the foxtails and gets stuck into the skin, I also had one go up a nose last year, I got him straight to the vet and she really struggled to get it out. The other type is like a small drill and works it's way in. I think the double coat and the long slinky coat do provide protection, although getting all the small round sticky burrs out is a pain.
  12. We have found that just giving them loads of space and not asking for much has helped our foster dogs relax and get comfortable. I have always found there is a point where you know that you can start to work with them. There is a post in adoptable dogs about Kelso, search for it and start reading his journey with D'elle and it might give you some ideas.
  13. Something else to think about is why did they want her all day. When we visit the rehab physio (he is a vet) the appointment takes an hour for a full exam. At home our exercise program is never more than 15 minutes a day which is quite enough for even a fit border collie.
  14. I work with Dr Leslie Eide online, I live in Spain and do have access to a really great local physio for diagnostic work but he had no experience working with sports dogs and did not provide me with much guidance. My dog and I have had really great sucess working with Leslie and I recommend her. Everything is done slowly and at the dogs pace, she likes the dogs to learn the exercises rather than luring them and slowly build their strength. If you have any questions about her, please message me.
  15. When people say they need a job, it is really shorthand for the need to engage with your dog. Border collies need more in their lives than just been companions, as long as you can find ways to engage their brains they will be happy. I also have dogs that behave differently with me than my husband. Our older dog begs from my husband as he always shares, when I am sitting at the table he won't come near .
  16. Thank you, he is a super pup. He is my first baby puppy and I am having loads of fun with him. He is a little sponge just soaking up new experiences. At the moment I would describe him as brave but not reckless, he has a think before diving in, but nothing phases him. Our other dog would prefer it if we returned him , having been an only dog for 4 years and the center of my attention he is not happy with the new arrangements.
  17. As required by the boards I have gratuitous puppy pictures. I am thrilled with my boy, he is a lovely pup, well worth the absurd drive from Mallorca to Scotland. He is called Fenway we just never managed to come up with another name that worked for us.
  18. Thanks for the update, I still love hearing about Kelso's life. It is truly amazing how far he has come.
  19. I feel for you, this is such a hard time to come to. My first border collie died at home, asleep on his dog bed, we knew he was terminally sick and had regular conversations about when we would know it was time, but he chose his own time. Our GSD x mix who was very much a bonded partner knew he was dead, she saw his body, was there when we buried him, it was obvious she understood but was depressed for ages afterwards, something that did not change till we got Brody 3 months later. (We only have ever had two dogs). When I decided that jesters time had come, 2 years later, we took Brody to the vets with us, he was there when she passed and was burried, he did not care or show any interest. Sadly we lost Brody 3 years later, he also passed at home and our current dog saw the body and was with us when we burried him, he certainly seemed to understand he was gone, but like Jester before was terribly depressed for a long time afterwards, made worse by him being an only dog. When the situation arises again I will try to make sure the survivor gets to sniff and see their buddy.
  20. CptJack your agility journey with Kylie is a great example to people that with a lot of patience and time so many dogs can learn how fun the game is. Looking forward to reading about how things progress.
  21. Now I teach I am very aware that the mistakes are nearly always handler related, or very importantly a hole in training. As an example last week everyone was working on a front cross exercise and a team were struggling at the second cross in the sequence, initially I thought it was her timing, then I ran the sequence with her border collie and realized he has developed a habit of going behind her and not reading her signals. That's not a fault on the dog's part but a consequence of him making his own decisions as she has not yet gained the confidence to be clear with her directions, so I dialed the exercise back and went back to fundamentals so he understood what was needed. But there are times, especially with an experienced dog that they own the fault, a few weekends ago my dog decided that he was not going to weave, it was providing my friends much amusement to see him decide to yell at me when He realized the next obstacle was those evil poles, once in the poles he was fine... But those entrance faults belonged to him (and I have video evidence to my innocence). My response focus on weaves and build value in achieving difficult entrances.
  22. Oh dear I have become that person , only difference is the language is a bizzare mix of English and very bad spanish with some odd german commands! Basically I yell premio a lot ... The yelling is due to the busy road next to the field
  23. My first dog thought agility was stupid due I think mostly due to bad training. We made all the beginner mistakes, not enough rewards, not recognizing that silly behavior needed to be encouraged, and a trainer that did not teach me what was important. I am constantly on my beginners, reward reward reward, and I get the response he did not get it right, and I always say he did what you asked ... Now reward your dog. And I agree most dogs only have a limited amount of work time in them before they want to quit, it is being aware of it that is important and so very hard to get people to understand. We have a whole pack of puppies in the club at the moment, and persuading people that a game with a puppy only needs to be 2 minutes and you stop while the dog wants more, not when he quits is turning out to be very hard. My dog has a behaviour that I know people wonder why I allow it, when we enter an agility area, he screams and leaps, it is all a little excessive, he is big and loud and I look like I am about to be bitten. I never stopped it as I want him excited and happy to play, as soon as he is in a sit stay his focus is complete and there is no repeat performance, and he doesn't care how long a training session is, or how many times I repeat a sequence so I can get the movement right. He is a big marshmallow and I have always felt that if I shut down his hysterical session I would be taking some of his joy away, and I can't see a single reason to change something that does not effect our performance and has the potential to change it. The last year and half is the first time I have ever had unlimited access to equipment, and it is only 10 minutes from my house, and our performance and skills have improved dramatically despite not having access to a regular trainer. I have no strict training plan, if there is time sometimes I will train for 10-15 minutes after a class, if I have signed up for an online class I will go over and work on that, other times I join the owner of the club and work on what she is training online. We probably train in total an hour a week. One of the strangely liberating things is having no goals, there are only two grades in our smaller agility organization and no championship title to gather points for, so when we compete my goal is to win, so I push and usually we make mistakes and I find holes in our abilities, and that is what I then focus on, at the moment it is weave pole entries, and not pulling out of them regardless of my actions. When we compete in FCI I am a lot more conservative as I do want clear rounds, but due to travel distances FCI is an occassional treat. So back the OP, I would suggest the private sessions not the barn rental as I think in the long run you will gain the most out of it, and it will help you not fall into the problems that most of us had with our first dog.
  24. From your description I would go with the private lessons, your instructor should know you and your partner well from the group class and know where the holes in your training are. From you description it sounds like some of the fundamentals aren't clear and I think working with a trainer will get your dog up to speed much quicker than trying on your own. I actually don't agree with the concept that weaves are only something you need to do a couple of reps of, to get really great independent entrances, and for the dog to stay in the poles regardless of what you are doing takes much more practise than that. I think it is the hardest skill for a dog to learn. I appreciate that it is hard on a dog, what I do is work in blocks with it, at the moment I am working on him staying in the poles regardless of what I am doing, once I am happy with the improvement, the only weaves he will do will be in sequences, and I will assess how far we have come, in a few weeks I will up the criteria and focus on training the weaves again.
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