Dog Obedience Training Info

Archive for the ‘Dog Obedience Equipment’ Category

Okay, so I’m showing 3 of my dogs (in 3 different height divisions) in AG1 A. There’s gonna be 4 trials altogether, so that means 12 runs. I’m pretty sure my Papillon’ll do good (her first ever UKC trial she got 4 perfect scores and 1st places and she’d never seen real equipment before, but she didn’t get the title because her registration was messed up…).

Anyways, I’m ranked in juniors obedience right now and in junior showmanship, and my female BC is #2 BC, so I’m sure I’ll qualify for something.

So, do you think if we do good that’ll be enought to qualify for both juniors agility and regular agility?

I started agility last summer with my boston terrier. I taught her myself in our backyard, I started by building a jump and weaves. Then got obsessed and built more. This summer I joined 4H, and normally iwth 4H you need to take a year of obedience before you can take agility (theres beg. and adv. agility, beg. is on leash) but they evaluated me and put me in adv. agility. Stormy isn’t AKC registered ( I know I can get her an ILP number, thats not what I’m looking for). She knows how to weave (12 poles, 20") teeter, a-frame, chute, tunnel, table, jump, etc. I know UKC has some different weirder equipment, and I don’t have any of that so I don’t think I would do UKC. But what would be a good organization to do agility with? Are there other ones besides AKC that you can earn titles and stuff? Thanks!
There isn’t really much USDAA in my area, I’m thinking of going with NADAC, but I hear its for more distance and stuff, I don’t know if we can do that. Also we’ve never done a hoop, are those in all trials?
There isn’t really much USDAA in my area, I’m thinking of going with NADAC, but I hear its for more distance and stuff, I don’t know if we can do that. Also we’ve never done a hoop, are those in all trials?

We have a 10 month old golden and we’re dealing with a noise sensitivity issue and wondering if anyone can help. (not to be ungrateful to those wishing to provide input, but please only people who’ve experienced this problem or people with extensive dog knowledge respond)

For the vast majority of noises she’s perfectly fine - there’s nothing in our house or yard that can scare her - even dropping a pan will startle her, but not send her running. She’ll just come and investigate.

However on several occasions, she’s gone into flight reponse, caused by really loud noises outdoors: Some examples: 1. a really loud car break screech. 2. nailguns on construction sites. (there are a bunch of new homes or additions being in our neighbourhood) One nail doesn’t appear to be an issue, but repeated nailing has been on a couple of occasions. 3. fireworks at a block party on our street a few weeks ago. 4. a very loud alarm at a local business that went off early one morning as we were walking nearby

We let our dog run off-leash in the park and occasionally on walking trails. She’s a purebred and her retrieving instincts are solid so she’d be miserable if we didn’t do off-leash stuff with her. Her recalls are very good - we work on them constantly - but my concern is that her recalls will not work one of these times where a noise frightens her into flight response.

Here’s how we’ve trained her: we live in big city, but with lots of green space nearby. We’ve frequently walked her on busy roads with lots of pedestrians. She has no problems with this. We subjected her to pretty much every household object, from vacuum cleaners to lawnmowers. No problem. We’ve taken her near heavy equipment and garbage trucks in operation. No problem. Loud music, fire engines, etc - no problem. She’s been subjected to all of it, and no problems.

Also, when she does show some sensitivity, we don’t coddle. Rather we distract her and try and get her mind focused on something she likes, e.g obedience for treats, or greeting other people or dogs. Usually this works, but not when the flight response is more intense - she shuts down to food and many obedience commands (though you can see her mind processing them). The episodes I described above were the more intense variety. However, we clearly didn’t do as much as we should have with really loud dramatic sounds.

Anyway, we’ve downloaded a bunch of sounds from the ‘net e.g. loud thunder, gunshots, fireworks, etc and have started playing them over the stereo in an effort to desensitize. I’ve read it’s good to do it when they’re eating and then gradually increase the sound.

I should note that while she’s generally submissive in nature, she’s really good with car travel, water, busy streets, meeting people, and new experiences in general - other than the noise issue, nothing really makes her cower, and no real separation anxiety.

So… has anyone else gone through this and how did you deal? Did your dog get better as it got older? (our is still just 10 months, but I know thats old enough for the problem to be potentially be permanent)

Thanks in advance for your help!!
Sorry, should mention the whole idea here is to add some safety for off-leash situations while in the park or on nature paths. She’s on- leash all other times, but this is not a dog to keep on-leash in all situations - she needs to run.

My 7 month old female golden retreiver has an issue with dogs barking if she doesn’t know the dog. If she knows the dog, no problem. It’s somewhat unpredictable. Sometimes I’ll hear dogs barking in the distance and she’s oblivous. Other times, it can get her freaked out and send in her into flight response.

Sometimes dogs can bark in her face and she just wants to play. Other times she goes into flight response. It seems to us now, that the most likely scenario to send her in flight response is a. if the dog is barking aggressively, and almost incessantly. Size of dog doesn’t really matter, it seems like tone is really the X-factor. It happened 3 X last week - once with a Jack Russell, once with what looked like a Schnauzer, and lastly with a larger breed, but a bark heard off in the distance.

The main issue with all of this, obviously is we can’t have her going into flight response when she’s off leash. However, she’s a retriever, so she has to run. I generally do off-leash stuff (fetch, recall training, etc) early in the morning, in an enclosed school yard. If I see other dogs approaching, I’ll put her back on-leash. I have had two instances where she went into flight response off-leash, both were in a park. With both it seems as though she’s trying to make her way home, i.e. exiting the park the way she came in. I was able to get her back both times, one very quickly, but I had to go into emergency type stuff (calling while running in the opposite direction to get her prey drive kicking in).

Generally she’s very confident - no problem meeting strangers or other dogs. She’s super playful and wants to play with pretty much every dog she sees. She’s not aggressive and very quiet, i.e. very little growling or barking. We life in a big city, but we’re surrounded by lots of parks and walking trails. She gets lots of exercise and stimulation: generally 3 30+ min. walks/day - walks often include fetch/tug as well as obedience practice. She also gets a couple of small play sessions inside.

She’s crate-trained and she shows no seperation anxiety when the house is empty - though there’s usually someone in the house most of the day. We’re also in the midst of an advanced obedience class (she’s already completed her novice obedience) and her training is coming along very well. She’s also been subjected to many noises, e.g. construction equipment, etc and easily and confidently walks along a busy sidewalk in our local shopping area, happily greeting every dog she sees - and most people!

What we’ve been doing to overcome this issue is this a. never comfort her in this situation b. Play dog barks on our computers (youtube has lots) c. walk towards the barking dog (as long as the situation is not threatening) or at least not walking away immediately. d. take her to parks with lots of dogs (though keeping her on leash).

It may be she simply outgrows this fear as she’s just under 7 months. But still, I’m wondering if there’s some other practical ideas to try. Any suggestions and/or have any others experienced this?

Thanks in advance to any thoughtful responder.

i’m looking at the dog agility tunnels for a kids carnival instead of a kids tunnel - they’re cheaper and better. here are some i’m looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-18-DOG-AGILITY-TUNNEL-OBEDIENCE-TRAINING-EQUIPMENT_W0QQitemZ300349878628QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45ee3f7164

http://cgi.ebay.com/18-NEW-DOG-AGILITY-TUNNEL-OBEDIENCE-TRAINING-EQUIPMENT_W0QQitemZ270465847409QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ef9055071

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Agility-Obedience-Training-Equipment/dp/B001QO8YHA

would they be ok? - i’m worried about possible bars on kids knees….

please answer!!

Purely hypothetical, of course. There is no "neither" option. You ARE buying a puppy… and these are your 2 choices.

Breeder A:

This breeder owns only 1 b*tch. She is a sporting breed, say a Gordon Setter. She was bought by them from a well-known show kennel, both of her parents champion titled, OFAd, all relevant health tests done. Her sire is a best in show, best in specialty winning dog. This b*tch was shown to her championship, achieved a CDX obedience title, and a Junior Hunter title for field work. She lives as a beloved house pet, sleeps at the foot of her owner’s bed.

She has been bred to a champion, best in show winning male, who has also passed all his health certifications. He is, however, a kennel dog, and has never done obedience or field work.

The puppies are all completely vetted, and in addition have been temperament tested by 2 different people knowledgeable to the breed.They had neurological stimulation done at 7 days, the optimum age for this.

In order to buy one of these puppies, you must fill out a lengthy questionnaire, letting the breeder know what your living situation is, what you are looking for in a dog and what you plan to do with this dog. They offer a lifetime health guarantee on their puppies, and will take back the dog at any time in it’s life if you are unable to keep it. All pet quality pups are sold on a spay/neuter contract, The breeder will refund 0 on the purchase price when you have the dog OFAd at maturity.

These puppies stay with their mother until at least 9 weeks of age. They have a beautiful big puppy pen to play in with miniature puppy agility equipment to play on. They are well socialized, brave, and afraid of nothing.

This breeder works hard with local and national breed rescue and volunteers at their local shelter.

Breeder B:

This breeder created ‘designer dogs’. They have several questionably bred b*tches they purchased from pet stores, Pomeranians. One has patella luxation that was surgically repaired when she was younger, but she is bred anyway. Another has severe skin allergies, and again, she is bred anyway, to a Chihuahua.

This breeder admits that they don’t care about shelter dogs, saying that ‘they aren’t my problem’. They breed their designer dogs because that is where the most profit is. These puppies are sold at 5-6 weeks of age, with their only vaccinations being what the breeder gives herself.

This breeder is also planning to branch out to breed goldendoodles, with a Golden Retriever b*tch she bought… yes, from a pet shop.

These puppies are sold with no health guarantees or a contract of any kind. If you cannot keep the dog a year from now, this breeder doesn’t care what you do with it; if the dog ends up in a shelter, ‘it’s not her problem’ any more. If you breed your POMCHI to a morkiepoo, this breeder doesn’t care.

If your puppy ends up with that luxated patella or severe allergy…. well, that’s your problem now.

So… which breeder would you choose? You can substitute your favorite breed in either scenario, but the conditions remain the same.

By the way… Breeder A is the breeder of my boy Nick. Breeder B? "Hypothetical". :-)
Mastiff Mommy- They are WONDERFUL people. I feel blessed that I was able to get a puppy from them. He is the love of my life.

Racecars… there is nothing wrong with adopting from a shelter. That’s wonderful. This is just a hypothetical situation, I am curious to see how everyone feels. I would NEVER say anyone is stupid for adopting a shelter dog.
Launi… have i told you lately that I ♥ you?
Tina… go back and re-read breeder A… the b*tch IS a champion, and has both obedience and field titles.

We go for a 20-30 min jog or about a hour off leash walk in the morning. Then we play tug o war & fetch & I hid toys and play ‘find it’ for about 2 hrs during the day and we mix in some obedience play training & we do 30-60min of more formal training mixed into the day w/ treats and stuff, less about playing and having fun, more about working at getting it right ( though I try to keep it all fun ). Plus we have some agility equipment in the backyard, weave poles & tunnels & dog walk that we spend time on. Then we do a 2 hour walk at night w/ some dogs from the neighborhood, we stop at three different spots where the dogs swim and run around, so its not a hard 2 hours, but she runs like mad w/ the dogs 90% of the time.

Some times she seems beat when we get home, sometimes she gets back at night and wants to play fetch for another 20 min and still dose donuts around the house when we come in.

A) I don’t want to over do it and hurt the pup
B) She still has so much energy every day & many nights
C) She wont take a nap and sleep waiting for more play time during the day unless I crate her, so I’ll put her in for an hour here and there so she’ll rest during the day
D) I’m told at about 1yr I can stop worry about over working her as she’ll be done growing and her joints settle…does that sound about right?
E) I rescued an older border collie for my last dog…but it seems like the pup can do double the exercise in a day…I’d take a 3rd walk or throw the ball more, but again, i’ve been told don’t over do it with a pup & then other people say, its a border collie, you can’t over do it

What a GREAT story of wonderful loving dogs.

More suburban dog lovers choose wolf hybrids.
By ERIKA I. RITCHIE
The Orange County Register

When Mike Lehane saw what looked like a sable-colored, thin coyote at the Huntington Beach shelter – his heart melted.
He had to have her.
After two years, Lehane, 52, and his wife had finally housebroken Sasha, a husky-and-wolf mix who ate through carpet, tore up furniture and went fishing for pool equipment.
Now almost eight years later, Lehane, a wolfdog expert and vice president of Wolfdog Rescue Resources, Inc., wouldn’t live without her.They go to dog parks, neighborhood walks and even on family vacations.

Nationwide data from the Centers for Disease Control count between three and four million wolfdogs, also known as wolf hybrids. Lehane, who prefers the term wolfdog, estimates there are several dozen in the county. The animal is smart, intuitive and loyal.

Like other household pets, wolfdogs come with their share of needs. They must have plenty of exercise and can’t be penned in the house or yard. They often require special diets including grain-free chow and fresh meat. Most should have obedience training.

***
I have owned 2 wolf dogs and will never own any other.
Cody is malamute /artic/husky/timber wolf, 17 months and 130lbs of pure love for ‘children’. He will leave a pack of dogs to play with kids.
They are more gentle than people realize. I have never had such a loving compassionate dog as this wolf dog. He is so gentle people are really amazed at his calmness and his eyes when you speak to them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0…

He does get grain free food as all dogs should. He gets Orijen, Stella and Chewy’s raw meat patties plus 1000mg fisdh oil pill for his skin and coat.

SAVE WOLVES ..STOP SARA PALIN from ariel gunning and snow mobling them into exhaustion and shoot them dead with in feet. Sara Palin has killed 884 so far this yr and paid 0.00 per paw of an adult or newborn pup.

Idaho is out to kill off 25 pack of wolves….

GOOGLE her,, she is unbeleiveable!
ravette your right.. !!
Toast..your toasted. There are no bad dogs just bad owners.
sammy and farmer..another 2 smart educated people..I love it!
athazago….I have been donating donate for years! Thx…
some one outta run her down in a snow mobile and see how she likes it !
Fuzzy..your right..you must KNOW how to be the ALPHA in your home.

I have a 5 yr old dachshund named Lexi - http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=395965015&albumID=1578325&imageID=6874077 - and I want to start training her for obedience competitions. She is CKC registered and there are events coming up for the next few months and I’m hoping to be able to enter her into one on Nov. 7 & 8. I don’t want to take her to a trainer-can’t afford one right now-and I have tried to train her in the past but never stuck with it. She can, at times, be a pretty quick learner. Can anyone tell me the best way to train her-leash & basics. And tell me what all they look for in the dogs in Obedience trials? Also, how can I train her for agility-she’s pretty fast. I don’t have any equipment, so how could I make some myself? I live in Alabama if this matters.

I just brought my 1 1/2 year old siberian husky to her first agility class. First of all, she is a very well trained dog in obedience but isn’t used to doing such things with other dogs around since she was trained at home by herself. When I got to the class, she was restless and would not stop pulling on the leash to get to the other dogs to play. I couldn’t get her to sit, wait, or focus on anything else but the other dogs. I cannot use a pinch or choke collar because it may be dangerous on the agility equipment. I need some way to get her to pay attention to what she is doing other than the dogs around her. She turns her nose up to any treat, and my commands. I was completely embarrassed because she wouldn’t listen to me or even acknowledge me. She was trained to focus on me for obedience, but it seems like she forgot everything she has been trained to do. How would I be able to train her to not pay attention to distractions and to focus on what she is doing?