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rachelsetters
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27-08-2009, 03:51 PM
Oh I wish we were closer too.... Max is a clown but Connor is the funniest poor Jess - he just pretends he has forgotten what to do and wanders off then its like oh yes agility I remember now!!!

Max was the same Hali I promise and he did get there - sensitive sometimes these setters you know!

And its only in the last month or so that he has started to 'get it'.

I'm trying to find the thread so I can see how long it really was.

As you say I think she will get it its just going to take time - its so hard once a week - we have borrowed some weaves as again so hard to crack with some dogs once a week.


One day Hali we may cross paths
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rachelsetters
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27-08-2009, 03:56 PM
Hali - it was July 2008 - although he did ok on it for a bit.

Although the noise didn't bother him - but can see it would - it is the noise we the other dogs or when she does it maybe a slower command to get it down would help? so it doesn't bang so much?
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Hali
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27-08-2009, 04:08 PM
Originally Posted by rachelsetters View Post
Oh I wish we were closer too.... Max is a clown but Connor is the funniest poor Jess - he just pretends he has forgotten what to do and wanders off then its like oh yes agility I remember now!!!

Max was the same Hali I promise and he did get there - sensitive sometimes these setters you know!

And its only in the last month or so that he has started to 'get it'.

I'm trying to find the thread so I can see how long it really was.

As you say I think she will get it its just going to take time - its so hard once a week - we have borrowed some weaves as again so hard to crack with some dogs once a week.


One day Hali we may cross paths
I've been thinking of asking for various pieces of equipment for my birthday/christmas (which are quite close together - ooh how I wish I had a summer birthday ). As you say, only doing it once a week hasn't really helped. I do get them to do jumps in the garden but at the moment only have low ones. OH has built me one higher one which Stumpy is now getting the hang of with the bride of playing with the water pistol each time she jumps it

Well in fact I have family that live not a million miles from you Portsmouth and Liphook) so perhaps we will get the chance to meet up one day

Originally Posted by rachelsetters View Post
Hali - it was July 2008 - although he did ok on it for a bit.

Although the noise didn't bother him - but can see it would - it is the noise we the other dogs or when she does it maybe a slower command to get it down would help? so it doesn't bang so much?
thanks for that - it just shows what perserverance can achieve

Its the noise it makes when other dogs are on it that scares her. (and the movement when she was on it, though as you say, it made no noise when she was on it as we were holding it). She's only been on it herself once and it put her off the whole of agility for weeks (when we got her out the car, as soon as she realised where she was, she tried to jump back in again ) But for the past 2 months or so, when she gets out the car she starts to pull me towards the indoor arena, so I guess I've just been chicken about trying her with it again as I don't want to go backwards with the rest, but I think perhaps we have to go backwards before we can go forward.
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Hali
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27-08-2009, 04:15 PM
Oh, another question please...

I know there are KC competitions and 'independent' competitions. For the independent ones, is it still the KC Activities Register that you need to be on, or is there another club/society that you need to register with?
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TBBS
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27-08-2009, 04:33 PM
I only compete at KC shows, which of course your dogs need to be registered with the KC, either on the breed register or working register. I know the UKA shows have their own register. Not sure about other shows.

If you are serious about starting to compete have you thought about looking for a more competitive club to train with? Does the club you train with now teach things like contacts? I know alot of pet only classes don't teach them.
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Ben Mcfuzzylugs
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27-08-2009, 04:51 PM
If it is just the noise I have heard of people using the bang like a click
Quietly at first bang, treat and build it up - and the positive side effect is once the dogs figure they can make it bang then they try and really force it to the floor

But it might be an idea to miss a few classes with the other dogs banging it until you get her happy with the bang noise, a few private lessons may help

Best of luck, I am sure you will mannage it
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Hali
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27-08-2009, 06:30 PM
Originally Posted by TBBS View Post
I only compete at KC shows, which of course your dogs need to be registered with the KC, either on the breed register or working register. I know the UKA shows have their own register. Not sure about other shows.

If you are serious about starting to compete have you thought about looking for a more competitive club to train with? Does the club you train with now teach things like contacts? I know alot of pet only classes don't teach them.
Thanks. The guy who teaches us competes (when he has time) and I'm fairly sure is teaching us 'properly' - its just that you can do as much or as little as you like and it is completely non-competitive (well apart from the odd fun night we have).

The other clubs in the area are way too competitive - I know people who have been to them and been made to feel really small and stupid - one of my neighbours was pretty much told that he should rehome his dog to someone who could take her further (because she was really good but he was a little too slow, being older). he was so upset about it. I really, really do not want that kind of environment...after all, although I'm now thinking about competing, at the end I'm still in it for fun, not to be a 'winning is everything' like the people at the other local clubs seem to be.

Originally Posted by Ben Mcfuzzylugs View Post
If it is just the noise I have heard of people using the bang like a click
Quietly at first bang, treat and build it up - and the positive side effect is once the dogs figure they can make it bang then they try and really force it to the floor

But it might be an idea to miss a few classes with the other dogs banging it until you get her happy with the bang noise, a few private lessons may help

Best of luck, I am sure you will mannage it
Thanks - we don't have to miss the classes because they don't get the seesaw out now they know Stumpy is like she is. Some weeks I leave early so they can get it out to practice, but no-one seems to mind that they don't use it every week.
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scotia
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31-08-2009, 08:07 PM
It sounds like the problem you have with Stumpy is similar to the problem I had with Rio. She always has been a very sensitive little bitch.

She didn't like the movement or the noise of the seesaw on the first time she saw it at club so I bought a lightweight Trixie seesaw to practice with at home (about £70), meanwhile club had moved indoors (winter) so the seesaw rarely came out. This was about November.

We had the seesaw in the house initially , teaching her very slowly by putting trails of sausages up it, letting it tip very gently and when it did touch the ground the end was on a cushion. After 3 weeks she could do it on her own and we repeated the training in the garden, and we thought the problem was solved.

Then they brought the seesaw back out at club and while she would do the seesaw herself, as soon as another dog went over it she just shut down and wanted to escape, either under cars, into cars, into the clubhouse, anywhere, just to get away from the bang, training was effectively over for that night. This was repeated week after week. It didn't help either that one night training was indoors on a hard floor and the seesaw was brought out, she was absolutely terrified. I brought the Trixie seesaw back out into the garden and sent her over it a few times, no problems, brought my older dog out and sent him over it, problem back again, she wanted to run back into the house. So at least I had something I could work on at home. This was April (so we'd had the problem for quite a while).

So my partner held her on a lead in the corner of the garden well away from the seesaw while I sent my older dog over the seesaw - and again - and again. He thought it was great as he got a treat every time he went over it too! All the time Rio was constantly getting fed dog treats. After a little while she started to relax and my partner started to lead her around the garden, again she was getting lots of treats, and then doing little recalls past the seesaw - I just kept sending my older boy over it, as soon as he was over it he turned round and went back over it again. We must have been in the garden working on this for about half an hour. The following evening I took her to agility training as usual - the first dog went over the seesaw and she flicked her ears. And continued training She went to her first show 1 month later and successfully competed in the ring, including the seesaw. She now has a pile of rosettes for agility

I'm not saying this would work for everyone but it worked for Rio - mainly because we worked on it in a place that she usually felt safe in, also being a lightweight seesaw it wasn't quite as loud a bang as a normal seesaw. We could also control when the bangs would happen. The fact that she would take treats was a good sign as well. At club she refused to take any food at all - frightened dogs won't usually eat. I think also the fact that she could see that my other dog wasn't frightened probably helped. So a 6 month old problem solved in 30 minutes.

Good luck with Stumpy - Rio is proof that seesaw problems can be overcome!
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Hali
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01-09-2009, 07:13 AM
Originally Posted by scotia View Post
It sounds like the problem you have with Stumpy is similar to the problem I had with Rio. She always has been a very sensitive little bitch.

She didn't like the movement or the noise of the seesaw on the first time she saw it at club so I bought a lightweight Trixie seesaw to practice with at home (about £70), meanwhile club had moved indoors (winter) so the seesaw rarely came out. This was about November.

We had the seesaw in the house initially , teaching her very slowly by putting trails of sausages up it, letting it tip very gently and when it did touch the ground the end was on a cushion. After 3 weeks she could do it on her own and we repeated the training in the garden, and we thought the problem was solved.

Then they brought the seesaw back out at club and while she would do the seesaw herself, as soon as another dog went over it she just shut down and wanted to escape, either under cars, into cars, into the clubhouse, anywhere, just to get away from the bang, training was effectively over for that night. This was repeated week after week. It didn't help either that one night training was indoors on a hard floor and the seesaw was brought out, she was absolutely terrified. I brought the Trixie seesaw back out into the garden and sent her over it a few times, no problems, brought my older dog out and sent him over it, problem back again, she wanted to run back into the house. So at least I had something I could work on at home. This was April (so we'd had the problem for quite a while).

So my partner held her on a lead in the corner of the garden well away from the seesaw while I sent my older dog over the seesaw - and again - and again. He thought it was great as he got a treat every time he went over it too! All the time Rio was constantly getting fed dog treats. After a little while she started to relax and my partner started to lead her around the garden, again she was getting lots of treats, and then doing little recalls past the seesaw - I just kept sending my older boy over it, as soon as he was over it he turned round and went back over it again. We must have been in the garden working on this for about half an hour. The following evening I took her to agility training as usual - the first dog went over the seesaw and she flicked her ears. And continued training She went to her first show 1 month later and successfully competed in the ring, including the seesaw. She now has a pile of rosettes for agility

I'm not saying this would work for everyone but it worked for Rio - mainly because we worked on it in a place that she usually felt safe in, also being a lightweight seesaw it wasn't quite as loud a bang as a normal seesaw. We could also control when the bangs would happen. The fact that she would take treats was a good sign as well. At club she refused to take any food at all - frightened dogs won't usually eat. I think also the fact that she could see that my other dog wasn't frightened probably helped. So a 6 month old problem solved in 30 minutes.

Good luck with Stumpy - Rio is proof that seesaw problems can be overcome!
Thank you Scotia, that was a very useful post - as you say, Rio and Stumpy do sound very similar
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