Thanks It's funny after reading this thread I decided to do some more work with Bandit in the paddock this evening. He lives to work and loves to learn, I'm sure if he belonged to someone seriously interested in competing at any sport he would do them proud.

So tonight while I played fetch with Malcolm using a ball flinger Bandit worked on touching the end of the flinger with his nose. Within two chucks he'd already got the hang of that now he just needs to get it on command. After that I moved on to sit stays and down stays again within a few chucks I could put him in a stay walk 12ft away collect Malcolm's ball, make Malcolm sit and then throw the ball all the while with him staying where I'd put him. The entire time we were training his tail was wagging furiously He was working for some kibble.

We both really enjoyed it and I probably will teach him some more stuff but if I don't I'm not concerned. I think having a dog with good life skills makes for a much more pleasant dog ownership experience and anything else is just a bonus. That said I think the basics like sit, leave it, wait, recall and loose lead walking are important to train. Some are obvious but sit can be used to calm an over the top dog and gain some control in exciting or stressful situations. It's more than just a trick and therefore would be handy for any dog to know.

Lol I'd like Whisper to like training. But you do feel silly when you're sat there with treat in hand trying to use an enthusiastic voice to train something or other and your dog looks at you as if you're the pet and they feel they ought to do *something* to keep you entertained and mentally stimulated rather than the other way round!

I am trying to read up all I can on training techniques etc in readiness for when I eventually get a puppy. I've pretty much given up with Whisper! xx

She's very good at training us though. She was never going to be allowed upstairs, was never going to be allowed on the sofa, was going to sleep in the kitchen...... and she has gradually trained us to let her do all the things she wasn't going to be allowed to do and she sleeps in our bedroom. So much so that it has been known for my husband to sit elsewhere and leave the big sofa to me and Whisper! xx

There is a reason I chose the label saying 'Princess' for her Julius K9 harness!

In fairness though she is very good when she's out and about.

They really are different. Many years ago I religiously attended training classes and trained them everyday at home striving for the 'perfect' dog that I never got (training wise that is).

As my life changed and I had a young family training took a back burner and guess what? My dogs were still a pleasure to live with, even more so to some extent because we just enjoyed being in each others company and doing an occasional training session when I had time (they were always walked every day, just no formal training) and so I realised that dogs don't HAVE to have 'training' on a regular basis to be happy, well adjusted dogs and fit into family life.

Now, I just train for fun, no pressure and if the dog doesn't want to do any training then we don't do it, as long as they follow the three basics of heel, wait and leave them I'm happy