(Noonbarra Dan IV X Noonbarra Megan)
Black & Tan Female Born: 6th December 2002
Owned by Justin Allen of Canberra
Noonbarra Megan II was purchased to compete in the sport of Flyball. Her owner, Justin is the Assistant Secretary. Australian Flyball Association. www.flyball.org.au. His dog Morris has won major Flyball titles. Justin has come back to the Noonbarra Stud a couple of times and we have given Megan II a couple of runs on sheep. She is a lovely dog and a real credit to Justin and his dog handling ability.
"Hi, attached are some photos of Megan II, with my 6 year old dog Morris. Nothing seems to worry her at all, she throws herself into other dogs, gets up again and looks for an other one to play with.
She has met, dogs, people, cats, ducks, bulls, ferrets, birds & not a worry in the world. She even meet Dr Katrina from Harry's Practice when we were filming for the TV show, but sorry to say she won't be on the show, I did try hard to get her on there though. Unfortunately Morris cut the pads of his two back paws three days before the shoot, his was pulled because we had Australian Championships three weeks later (which he finished 4th in) It was his 5th Australian Championship.
Talk to U later. Justin Allen
Hi Mary & Hi Stephen, I had been holding off on updating you on Little Megan until we had sat for our beginner test at the dog club, but after receiving your mail on the forced down I could not resist updating you now.
Well she is just over five months old now and the only thing I can say is, she is one impressive dog. I started training Megan with tricks to begin with, the very first thing she learned was the wave (Oh by the way, she is right handed, just in case you are wondering), & of course this is her favourite thing to do now, she will sit and just keep waving, hoping for that reward.
Then we moved on to the drop, this almost seemed to be a natural
position for her, so once she had that one mastered I moved her on to a drop at
some distance, we have been working on this the last few months and she is now
dropping around 15-20 meters away from me while on the move.
She has now learned to roll over, this one took slightly longer, but again she just loves doing it now. I started her on foundation exercises for Flyball when she was about 13 weeks, mainly things like getting her focus and attention, on that subject her focus and attention span is amazing, only the other day I got a comment that she is more like an adult dog then a 5 month old puppy.
Now for a story that I think is really good...Megan and I were visiting a friends house, we let Megan have run in the back yard with the other dogs as we sat on the back veranda and had a drink. It was about 5 mins and we could hear my friends ducks coming closer to the house, then we saw them come around the corner, with Megan guiding them. We all just burst out with laughter, then the ducks made their way to the corner of the yard, Megan just stood at about 6 feet away for around 7-8 mins. She was about 3 months old at this time.
Physically Megan is very fast, she can turn on a 10 cent coin and she is really starting to get that foot work in order. In short I often forget she is just 5 months old, because she can learn at such a great pace, I have been really forcing myself to hold back with some of her training, so not to push her too much at such a young age. I can sense a bond forming between Megan and I now, not a strong one yet, but there is definitely something starting to happen (I have noticed this over the last few weeks).
I
will send some photos to you in the next few days, I have been
taking video of her training sessions, I plan to send one to you
around June so you can see her too. I may also be heading up to Queensland
later this year for a Flyball Competition, if I do end up going, I would
love to drop in and say hello, ang video of her training sessions, I plan to
send one to you around June so you can see her too. I may also be heading up to
Qued you could see how Megan is doing.
I have been checking your website on a weekly basis, I have seen Megan's litter brother grow, and his ears were up way before her, Oh one ear is up and the other one is trying real hard, but not quite there yet. And I see that Dan has been very busy.
On an other subject, the Harry's practice show on flyball, will air next Sunday nite at 7:00pm, look for the mighty mutts wearing orange, they are the dogs from my club. If you also look for Tansy the border collie, Tansy and my other dog Morris run almost exactly the same, so you will have an idea of how Morris goes.
Thanks for the forced down article, I do remember U showing me a
very similar exercise when I picked up Megan, we did do it on a daily basis for
quite a while, which is why I probably have not had any problems with her down
stay, yet!
Megan is really turning into a wonderful dog, but I keep telling people, "She was like that when I picked her up"
Justin
Hi, attached are some photos of Megan II, with my 6 year old dog Morris. Nothing seems to worry her at all, she throws herself into other dogs, gets up again and looks for an other one to play with.
She has met, dogs, people, cats, ducks, bulls, ferrets, birds & not a worry in the world. She even meet Dr Katrina from Harry's Practice when we were filming for the TV show, but sorry to say she won't be on the show, I did try hard to get her on there though. Unfortunately Morris cut the pads of his two back paws three days before the shoot, his was pulled because we had Australian Championships three weeks later (which he finished 4th in) It was his 5th Australian Championship.
Talk to U later. Justin Allen
Hi Mary & Stephen,
How are you going, last week I received the Stud Book Certificate and today received the latest edition of the kelpie news journal.
I have noticed in recent editions a few articles on flyball, I also noticed that none of them were from within Australia. But thought would most likely be because at current there are zero kelpies doing flyball here. So I would like to write an article on flyball in Australia and maybe a little on Megan II as well, all her training etc. Do you think this would be well received?
Attached is an eight second video of Megan II and some of the training we have been doing. I'll explain it a little before you view it, I begin by holding Megan, throwing a ball out, then release her to retrieve it. The aim is to not only get her retrieving it, but doing it quickly as well. Once she gets hold of it, you can hear me whistle for her, she then returns with the ball (again trying to get her coming quickly), to trade it for tug rope, which is Megan's main motivator. The reason why we use tug ropes in flyball is because in a flyball competition, you are not allowed to throw any objects for your dog to chase, so we condition them to retrieve a ball for their motivator (in this case Megan's tug rope).
The tug ropes we use are home made and are of T-shirt material, so they have a little give and stretch in them as the dogs generally grab them at high speed. Along with this video, also in the post to you is a CD with full of Megan II doing, her flyball training, tricks, playing, etc..... I have also included some video of my older dog Morris(I could not resist). And we have started some Agility training too, as I am only new to agility I have been attending trials to see what mistakes other handlers use, so I know what to look out for when we begin.
I really hope to bring Megan back to see you before she turns 1 year old, is there a weekend after September which would suit the both of you for me to make a day trip up?
Thank you. Justin Allen, Assistant Secretary. Australian Flyball Association. www.flyball.org.au
Hi Mary & Stephen, It has been some time since I last spoke with you. Megan is now 16 months and went through her first season in January... Megan the little girl who once seemed so delicate and petite, has developed a real presence of strength and power about her, she has really muscled up well. Just like other dogs, she will run and play and be, for lack of a better word "crazy", but unlike the other dogs I get to see and work with, she has a sense of purpose and focus about her movements...I'm not sure if that makes sense?
I have continued to investigate new
methods of training, which a big part of it was after my last visit there. I
have really noticed that the dogs seem to respond better with a calmer approach
to their training, an almost "passive approach" if you will. Megan has a lot of
confidence and is so calm at times, I often wonder if she is interested in
anything at all, only last week getting her injection at the vet, she just stood
there and did not move a muscle or make a noise while the vet stuck the 2
needles in!! I have never seen anything like it......but it is just a case of
asking if she is "Ready" and she puts her game face on.
"Her flyball training is coming along amazingly, even though I had little doubt that she would be able to achieve above average standards in the sport. I will keep you informed of when her first competition will be, it may even be close to you...At the beginning of March I was competing with my other dog Morris at the Mudgee show, I was hoping to call in with Megan & Morris but time did not permit on that weekend."
"On yet another subject, I was flicking through a book at a friends house named "Great Working Dog Stories".....and to my surprise I came across an article by Stephen Bilson...on Border Collies? So I have been wondering how many other breeds of dog, or animals for that matter, do you know about?"
"So to bring this email to an end, I say thank you....I can count the amount of people on one hand, that have influenced my thinking and methods on dog training, and both of you are included in that. And I know that Morris, Megan and I have many years to go and lots of new things to learn, but I can't help thinking of the next dog I will train...be it a few years away from now!"
Justin Allen, Morris & Megan II
Justin is doing a fantastic job with Megan and we are so proud of his progress and that he can get the best from her. We appreciate all the feedback and his kind words.
Noonbarra Megan II in the sheepyards
Noonbarra Megan II on a recent trip back to Noonbarra
Sept 2004
Hi Mary & Stephen,
Just a short email to let you know I've started some herding with Megan. I have attended a couple herding weekends presented by Robert Cox, I found the herding to be quite addictive and it is something I really want to continue with into the future.
I did find it hard giving Megan and the sheep room to move, but I'm starting to understand the basic concepts and ideas.....I got to face fact that she had a better idea of what do to then me. She is progressing forward with each lesson, she moves very quickly and quietly, I sometimes lose track of where she is though....
On a different note, I have had the chance to meet some of Megan's relatives, Tess who is actually part of the same dog club here in Canberra, but I first met her at the herding weekends, and just last week at a Flyball competition I met a little 13 week old pup, I think Matilta (III)?
