Hello Everyone!

psychopixi

Well-Known Member
Hi all!

I'm thrilled I've found this forum - it's exactly what I've been looking for. I have an 11 month old, black GSD called Difa, who is my little star. She learns so quickly, I've been searching for inspiration for new things to teach her - and guidance on how to teach these things, and I guess I've found the right place. :dogsmile:

She already has a reliable recall, and knows commands such as sit, down, five (as in 'gimme five dude!'), wait, twist (turn anti-clockwise) spin (clockwise) fetch, find it (blind fetch) and excuse me. She knows upstairs and downstairs, go (sending her in the direction I'm pointing) and the names of her favourite toys. She'll 'go to bed' (her doggie bed upstairs) and 'go to jail' (her crate - it's called 'jail' for comedic effect; it's never used as a punishment!). We're working on perfecting her positioning for side (come to my left side) and round (come to my right side) at the moment.

I did buy a clicker a few months ago, but found it a little difficult to work with at first. I decided to give it another go recently and thought I'd try using it to teach her the touch command - in our last training session she got 10/10, and I think that having the clicker to pinpoint the exact behaviour has really helped. I can see that having this command in our repertoire is really going to help with teaching other tricks, and I'm looking forwards to using some of the ideas from this forum, plus come payday I'm definitely going to invest in Kyra Sundance's '101 Dog Tricks'!

A little bit more about me - I'm 23 and graduated university last year with a degree in Computer Science, although I don't really want to work in IT. :dogunsure: As well as liking computers and web design, I enjoy reading, and of course love spending time with my pets. I live in Wales, UK with Difa, my partner Stewart and two 4 year old cats named Dandelion (Danni) and Burdock. Difa gets on fine with cats, although they're still a little wary of her when she's running about. The cats know a few commands as well, not because I've tried to teach them, but simply through hearing them often enough - they'll respond to no, out, down, off, upstairs, excuse me and their names, and they also know what treats are! :dogbiggrin:

So, lengthy introduction over (hope you kept with me there, guess I rambled on a bit!), it's a pleasure to meet you all, and I look forward to spending more time on these forums. :doghappy:
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Hi psychopixi! It is a pleasure to have you as a member here. :dogsmile: This is definitely the place for inspiration! We have lots of members who actively participate in dog training. And we are just about to release an online type of dog training competitions. It should be great! :dogsmile:

It was nice reading your introduction! I wish you well in your training! :dogsmile:
 

opalgal

New Member
Welcome to the group you will enjoy it and pick up many tips for all sorts of training. I am very involved in Obedience & Agility with my 22 month old male German Coolie Ashwyn he is doing well in obedience competitions and has just started to compete in Agility.

I live in Adelaide, South Australia and been involved in my dog club for many years & this is my 4th dog I have trained, I also instruct in agility (have done for a few years, all voluntary at our club)

Have fun with your training

Cheers
Linda
 

jasperaliceuk

Experienced Member
Hi Welcome to you and Difa

You'll love the advice, chat and friendliness on this forum. Sounds like you're already going great guns with Difa's training - you'll certainly get plenty of ideas here.

Have you got a pic of him? - I love black GSDs.

Sue
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Hi! Wow you are so lucky to live by the beach. That is pretty much my long life dream to live by a beach (although I'd like a little warmer weather). :)
 

psychopixi

Well-Known Member
Well I live in South Wales, near the Gower, so there are several beaches within driving distance. The picture I linked to was taken in Tor Bay, which is my favourite, as it's a sandy beach (as opposed to sand & pebbles) and it's quite a small cove, so it's normally fairly quiet down there. The Gower is officially an 'area of outstanding natural beauty', so even when we're not down the beach, there are plenty of really pleasant walks to go on nearby. Yep - lucky me! *grins*
 
Top