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Comment
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Gerard
Jan 16, 06 - 3:13 PM |
Forum Not Fufilling Potential???
I can't help but feel that this forum is not fufilling its full potential. I come to view quite regularly but very seldon do I find any new posts or comments. It seems to me that there is a wealth of information to be exchanged between Rough and Smooth Collie Owners and Breeders and yet very few people take the time to do so. I accept that there are many Collie sites all with interesting and informative information and that people do lead busy lives however, the satisfaction that one gets from seeing a post replied to far outweighs trawling through endless net pages for an answer to a question.
I'd be interested to hear what people think. The forum is a wonderful tool for all us Collie people and we should therefore use it to it's full potential.
Gerard
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KerrieBaby
Apr 17th, 2007 - 2:33 PM |
Re: Forum Not Fufilling Potential???
I agree, I have posted questions and not really had any help. 
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Joan
Apr 18th, 2007 - 10:40 PM |
Re: Forum Not Fufilling Potential???
Hi Gerard,I really think it depends whether we can help - e.g I live in Scotland so couldn't offer any info on agility clubs to 'Kerriebaby' in her area but did offer her a couple of training suggestions. Also I was able to make contact with Pat (a recent convert to Rough Collies) who came to meet me at Crufts and I in turn made contact with Sandra and Max with their Rough at the Good Citizen benches.On the other hand there have been lots of messages that I have been very interested to read but have had nothing useful to add to the discussion and I assume others feel the same-it's not lack of interest!
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SANDRA DAY
Apr 19th, 2007 - 9:47 AM |
Re: Forum Not Fufilling Potential???
Hi Joan - Big Wave!
Hi Gerard - Well herewith my fourpenneth as a newbie. I look in every now and then and had some really good advice but just an observation the two things that are 'off-putting' is the 'ads' that come up blinking at you all the time and the fact that your have to keep filling in your name and email address (albeit I have Google Autofill), so it just makes it all very very slo....ow! and yes because the forum is generally quiet am guilty of by-passing it? What I'm trying to say is, it's not very 'user-friendly'.
Does anyone else find this?
Also, I am active on two other dog forums, which some of you may know of, the first being Taking the Lead - which is run and owned by Gill White, a Behaviourist and Trainer who promotes positive training methods only. http://www.ttlntl.co.uk and if you click on forums you can see the set-up is much different and the membership expanding but this is because of the nature of the forum - it is not breed specific and people post from as far away as Japan and the States.
The other Forum I am addicted to is DogPages which is a rescue dog site, http://www.dogpages.org.uk and again you will have to click on forums.
I mention these two just to give you an idea of what I'm dribbling on about with regard to the 'board' they use to run the forums, they are easy to access and userfriendly.
The other thing is that some people may not have the confidence to post and the fact that the 'collie' specific audience is probably relatively small compared to, say a Border Collie forum. And guess what, I am involved with one of those to! http://www.wiccaweys.co.uk yet again link to forums. Wiccaweys is a border collie rescue and as well, I also help fund raise for Wiccaweys and homecheck for them.
So my thoughts are, if the forum could be made a bit user-friendly to access i.e you just click on your desktop icon and voila you're straight in without all the ads and having to fill in your details, maybe that would encourage people to visit more often and participate in any topics?
Look at ways of encouraging people to post even if it's just for a chat and also open it up a bit and encourage people to post about their other dogs that aren't rought or smooth collies but without losing sight of the fact that this is a 'collie' specific forum. I'm sure other people are like me and have other breeds? I have a border collie and a whippet collie x.
Get the forum linked to other doggie sites i.e Taking the Lead. I am willing to ask Gill if a link can be put on her website.
Just briefly, I worked in an all breed rescue for 5 years and am heavily into 'behaviour' and am currently studying with the Animal Care College, so would quite like to help people out from the behaviour side of things (do my best) but being new to RC ownership, all the breed showing side of things is a new arena for me ......
I hope the above is seen as a positive input and I haven't just gone and made myself very unpopular .....
Sandra
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Pat
Apr 20th, 2007 - 5:10 PM |
Re: Forum Not Fufilling Potential???
Hi there,
I also pop in from time to time to see if there is anything new I can contribute to on here and I agree that the ads had me a bit confused to start with. Some of them are so loud too I have jumped out of my skin on occasions!
It was lovely to meet Joan at Crufts. Didn't Florin do well in the World Cup Joan? You must have been very pleased with her!
How's that puppy coming on?
Like you Sandra, I did the Animal Care College course on canine behaviour, in about 1995 and found it very worthwile.
Interestingly I did my 'thesis' on Dog Training Clubs that I attended and it's amazing especially with the advent of clicker training, how things have changed since then!
Did you enjoy Crufts Sandra and how did the Good Citizens demo go?
BFN
Pat
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SANDRA DAY
Apr 21st, 2007 - 7:26 PM |
Re: Forum Not Fufilling Potential???
Hi Pat
We had a FANTASTIC time at Crufts, thanks - Glen was a true 'Star' and a real hit with everyone! and not a slippery floor in sight! It was great to meet Joan and see the photos of her babies and I did pop down to the S & RC showing area on friday pm, but it was a bit late in the day and lots of people had gone and just some judging taking place - it was great to see all the other Roughs and Smooths though, and of course I managed to catch a few Borders too!
Err ... lost count of how many times I heard 'Oooo look, there's Lassie'! Anyway, Glen lapped it up but boy were OH and I pooped for at least 2 weeks afterwards - great experience for us, something I doubt we'll ever get the opportunity to repeat. I did miss my shopping though, as I had role of Chief Go-Fer!
Sandra 
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Joan
Apr 21st, 2007 - 8:04 PM |
Re: Forum Not Fufilling Potential???
Yes Pat,I was thrilled with Florin in the World Cup,especially as she was very unhappy in the crowded conditions on the Thursday in the Inter-regional comp,but by the Sunday she was much more her usual confident self. We were a bit out of our depth in the very complicated heelwork but she held her own in the rest of the work,coming 10th overall and helping Scotland to come 3rd equal with England BUT if I'd trusted her on the retrieve over the hurdle(I lost my nerve and gave her an extra command which lost all 10 marks for coming back over the jump)we'd have come 6th and Scotland would have been clear 3rd! I suppose lots of folk had an 'if only' like that but I was so chuffed to be in the top third of a very competitive class with my lovely nearly 10 years old hairy Smooth and want to do it again.
You ask about my puppy-you really mean my big black MONSTER! Actually she's lovely, full of beans,plays tuggy,loves titbits and does heelwork wrapped round my neck or my ankles. She was at her first shows last weekend,met Auntie Mavis Mills(has known Auntie Bron since she was 3 months old) and lots of other people and went into the ring for the first time.We only did temperament test and heelwork on lead because I knew she'd take off to join all those exciting Border Collies having so much fun doing sendaways and retrieves if I had her off lead!As it was she was very focused on me but as she won't be 9 months till next week she has the attention span of a gnat so there's no point in rushing her!Good luck with Tanni Thompson and to all RSCTA members in whatever working sphere you participate in.
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Pat
Apr 22nd, 2007 - 12:29 PM |
Re: Forum Not Fufilling Potential - now obedience chat...
Glad to hear everyone enjoyed their Crufts experiences!
Let's give all those Border Collies a run for their money in obedience!
Auntie Bron was telling me how lovely your puppy is, Joan. Are you able to get to many shows being all the way up there in sunny Scotland?
There is a lady called Brenda that also is working a merle Rough, same age as Tanni. We hope they are in the same class at Rugby in a couple of weeks.
Are there any other people on here doing obedience with their collies I wonder?
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