Agility

I took the girls agility training this morning and had a great session. I have very specific things to work on with both of them and I managed to do everything on my list for today.

Wicca- we've gone back to basics, literally. No more than 4 obstacles in a sequence. I've been working at home on rebuilding, and making sure that Wicca and I are on the same page handling wise. Today I worked on one jump stuff, I did some lead outs, worked on her a-frame, and did part of a tough weave exercise everyone else was doing. She had great jumping today- all the work seems to be paying off. She only knocked one bar the whole session. I struggled with some timing and focus on my part with a push through to serp exercise but I persevered and we did get it. I feel that we are starting to get some of our working relationship back. I think that I am on the right track with what I am doing. Right now *I* need things broken down so I can really see what is going on with my handling. I was talking to my friend today on the way home about that- in the past we rarely run clean the first time in training. I would say 90% of the time we have errors the first (or second) time running a long sequence. How then do I expect us to have our shit together in a trial setting? So yeah. I am feeling good about my plan. I plan to challenge myself every session, and above all else stick to my own set criteria and plan.

Pixel did really great today. I've worked hard on pumping her up each time she does agility and it is really paying off. She is excited EVERY time she has a turn- which is what I want. I did about 10 repetitions on the a-frame, not always a full frame, but used the hoop and manners minder every time. She really doesn't understand what I want at this point. And I can really see that I've rushed through training on that. (bad me). Her dogwalk was awesome though- each time she nailed it and was fast and focused ahead. I am very pleased with her progress. I did just a few little jump exercises with her and she did well. She still is not as fast as I'd like- but I think that is in part to her being unsure still of some of the handling. I broke things down a lot for her and used the tug and ball as a reward. The weaves were great- she is getting quite speedy, and is able to find an entry and maintain that speed the whole way through. I am not helping her at all and he is focused ahead and not on me- which is perfect. And I spent some time on the teeter, I've decided I want her to stay on the teeter until a release rather than just a run off...so we worked on that for the first time.

So yeah, all in all a pretty wonderful morning!

Tuesday Training

I had a great training session with the dogs last night. I got everything done that I wanted- and more!

Wicca
jump grid. She blasted through them five times before settling in and doing three correct.
Weave entries. Worked on hard open entries with her, pumping her up first so she'd have to really sit back and collect to get the entry.
Weaves. Distance and sending through with me at one end. She has the tendency to curl back to me at pole 10 so I worked on that with a toy.
Gamble work. With dogwalk, and directionals. She did really well. Still need to work on difference between out and go on with two parallel jumps. She will suck into me and take wrong jump if I don't have enough pressure. I'd like for her to look away more reliably on a verbal "out" cue.
Rear crosses. Using figure eight pattern just mostly for some more jumping. RC were good and well timed on my part.

Pixel
Jump grid- she is doing much better and is jumping smoother. I am still debating about dropping her to 6inches....
Weave session 1. Two gates on for first rep, then off. Worked hard open entries and rear crosses. She has a good rhythm and lots of forward focus. Am very happy with progress.
Dogwalk. Backchained three reps with me hanging back, staying with, and sending. She is driving to end and sticks it! Yay for Pixel! Did two full dogwalks and am thrilled with the progress.
Weave Session 2. Started with no gates but had no succes beyond pole four. Put one gate on for four reps and ended.
Jumping- rear cross exercise on figure eight. She did really well. Next week we will work on Fronts only.
Weave session 3. One gate for first two reps and then no gate for three. Fast entry out of tunnel. Really happy with her.

Vito
Jumping- acceleration mostly. Set up games and blasting off start line to thrown toy.
Tugging- got some really great tugging with him.
Dogwalk- running all the way. Used tug toy to reward low and played some happiest place games.
Weaves- 6 poles. Pretty distracted and lost the oomph we have at home. Need to work on making it more stressful at home...
Tire- he was ducking under so worked on the tire until he was actually looking for it.
Discrimination- tunnel/dogwalk. He is a total dogwalk lover *nd had a hard time. I exaggerated the tunnel for him a few times and he was better.

Notes:
Gophers were very distracting for Wicca and Vito. Used them to wind up Wicca a bit in an effort to make her screw up the poles. No such luck. :)
Need to remember to always start with a gate for Pixel in the weaves.
Bring goodie container for Vito next time.

Boone did not come out last night. Will start him back on light stuff next week. He has not been to the field at all yet. May bring him tonite while I teach and feed him supper out there.

Sunday Seminar Stuff, and Weather.

Went to Calgary on Sunday for a one day seminar with Terry Simons. It was great, and as usual Terry entertained us all. There is something about him that makes him easy to relate to, and he is a fantastic teacher. We ran four courses, and then picked them apart and ran them again (or portions of them)

I was really pleased with Wicca- she got every weave entry, and stuck her contacts, and listened well. I wasn't happy with myself however. I got lost on three of the four courses. Nice eh? My memory has sucked for a while, but this is pretty ridiculous. I know that with the tooth pain and the advil my brain is a little foggy. Anyway, I am going to try to do as many longer sequences and courses that I can between now and Regionals to get my brain working properly.

It was a great day, and I got a few tips about my timing, and just general information. He is all about doing what works for the dog and taking into account the actual dynamic of the dog. He doesn't try to squish all dogs into one "box" so to speak. For example with a dog like Wicca- who is 6 years old and is not going to change much at this point, he thinks I should stop trying to make her bend over (and keep the bar up) the bar. Rather i should signal my turn when she's landed. One of our weak points right now are lead out pivots for this reason. I have been trying, and trying to get the turn before she takes off but the bar comes down nearly every time. By signaling my turn after she's landed I've only lost a second or two, and kept the bar. He's told me this before but I think I actually get it now. If this was a dog with longer legs, and better structure then yes, fix the jumping. But this particular dog is not going to change so I have to. Makes sense eh?

Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I was glad to have gone. I originally was going for two days but had to pull for the Monday because Boone can't play yet. He does seem to be on the mend though, and i haven't seen any hitching in the past few days...

Oh, and the weather really sucks here. Not sure about the rest of the world but this is pretty abnormal even for us. LOTS of really nasty wind, and rain. We don't get much rain here so it's pretty strange. We are used to wind though, but 100km/hr winds two days in a row is a but ridiculous....

hopefully the flickering lights doesn't mean we are going to lose power....

Wicca the Wild...

Wicca was very naughty on Saturday. I would be lieing if I said I wasn't dissapointed. I was so looking forward to this trial, and was feeling very confident about how she would do. She was super in training last week, and even her warm up at the trial was great. The minute we got in the ring it was all over.

She broke her start line (once I didn't even notice until after as she sits down the minute I look back at her...), slammed into and through bars, flicked away, and barked....It was only three runs (the last one I didn't even run her....) but totally left me deflated. In fact I deleted the videos because they depressed me...lol

Regionals is only a few months away. There are only a few trials between now and then. The Cardigan Nationals are even sooner...I know that my dog is capable of amazing. And it is SO frustrating when we get to the line and she isn't with me.

She has been off and on agility for the past few months with injuries etc, and I've cut back the amount she runs in an effort to keep her healthy. I think that part of her issue is that she is so excited to be out there she isn't focusing.

So my plan is to train at least twice a week and continue to work on ground work at home. I have a whole list of things we need to work on, and have lots of time to do it. I need to make sure that I stick to my plan and get her as excited as I can in training so that she is "high" and acts the same as she does at a trial.

Our classes start again in May. Once a week will be training, and the other night will be our regionals prep class. The training night will give me a chance to work on specific skills. I am going to do a jump grid each week, and one more focus which will alternate. The regionals prep class will be a chance to run a past regionals course and work on the challenge of actual course work.

I have a seminar with Terry Simons this weekend- a whole day of course work and analysis so I am hoping he will have some suggestions for me of more things I can do.

I am optimistic that my plan will work. I know that she can be brilliant, and I know that I can handle my dog around a course. I just don't know why more often then not it turns to disaster....

Proof that she can be good....(last years Nationals photo...)

Pixel Update

Just a quick update about training and such.

She can weave four poles in my yard. Why four? Well, I only have four...off to get more today.
Working on leadouts, positional cues, and fast set up games. She thinks this is pretty fun.
Working on finishes. Trying to get some flair into her swing finish and so far it is looking pretty cute.
Working on Stand. As in stand for exam. This is the only thing I have to train for her CD.

Our agility equipment is back outside so that is pretty exciting. It means that I can train more. I really need to get contacts into some sequences.

And that's all the updates in the world of Pixel. She is still cute as ever, and is looking very grown up these days. Oh, and she loves fetch.

Pixel and Buzz

Buzz is my friends little Sheltie pup. He and Pixel had a great time playing after some outdoor training this afternoon. This was the first outdoor training all year and it was SO fun. I worked each dog on a few specific things- Boone on coming into me and deceleration. Wicca on startlines. Pixel on contacts, and Vito on some fun speed sequences. It was a fun way to spend a few hours- I am so excited that SPRING is here!!!

Table!

okay, so NOT a table picture, or in any way related to training last night....but she's cute...

I took the girls to the arena last night and worked mostly Pixel. I got a lot done with her and am feeling really good about where she is at right now.

Table- worked on driving with her to the table, sending to the table, and running past. The first few times I ran past she used the table as a spring board so I started from scratch and slowly built up my movement. At the end I was able to throw a toy as I ran past and she wouldn't leave. Her down is automatic on the table and even when she was REALLY excited it was still super fast.

Out and Go One- using just tunnels I started adding more distance and less movement from me (i.e gamble). She did really well with this and loves tunnels a lot so this was a perfect set up to work this.

Teeter- I only did a few reps of this as I mostly wanted to do the dogwalk. Her teeter isn't quite as fast as I'd like so we started with some surfing to get the excitement up.

Dogwalk- I wanted to challenge her to find the entry on and maintain speed. She didn't miss it once. I also worked on running past her on her 2on2off and I was very happy with how well she did. She only broke once, although I do need to work on how long she stays in position. She was starting to release herself after a few reps.

Threadles- there was a simple box set up so we worked on threadles and push thru's. She is much better at this than Wicca.... :o)

so yeah- LOTS of stuff packed in to last night. It's very exciting to me that she's so grown up. And she is so incredibly cute!

Wicca came along but only did very little. Mostly we worked on start lines. Everytime she broke she was put away. Which meant that the first few times she was out was quick. :o) After the second time she got it and I had to be extra sneaky to get her to break (saying BOOK, instead of her release word for example...she did break on that by the way) I also did some circle work in the middle of two tunnels and she didn't flick out once! And FINALLY she was able to do some actual equipment and I just did go on's and get out's for a few minutes with the tunnels. No jumping, no weaving, and no contacts for Wicca last night.

Only one more week in the barn and we move outside! It's hard to believe it's the end of March already...

Pixels' list...

As I mentioned in my last post I entered Pixel in her first trial in May. I am very excited for her, and it will be great to see all my training in action.

There are a few things I need to work on more.

Contacts. I have a month to finish and proof her teeter, dogwalk and aframe. Her table is pretty solid. I only get on contacts with her maybe once every two weeks so it has been a slow process but the progress we have made has been good. I need to start proofing on the dogwalk and need to start making the approach angles a bit harder.

Handling. She recognizes all the patterns- pinwheels, 180's, 270's, serps, threadles. Now I need to piece more together and do longer sequencing. I also need to work on her finding a line. She doesn't always take what is in front of her.

I also need to work on my start set up. She prefers to start in a stand, which is fine by me- but she is sometimes slow to switch sides on cue. I need to go back and make this fun for her.

Weaves. She won't be weaving by May but I intend to weave every day with her at home (at least while the weather holds). I've been lax in the weave department lately...so I need to make up for that.

Sounds like a lot of stuff but really its not. When I think of how far she's come in her training its pretty amazing!

Agility Content- Finally!

I've been too busy to blog the last few days, but things are going well. The dogs get full of mud nearly every day, and every day I hope to come home from work with just a little less mud in the yard...

but- it looks like Spring is here (for a few weeks anyway) I am sure we will have one more blast of Winter, but for right now I am enjoying the sun, the birds, and the green grass poking up...

Boone seems to be over whatever it was that happened at the trial a few weeks ago. I had given him a few weeks off of no agility and took him to class the first time this week. He was super- very happy, excited, and listened well. Sarah designed a great class set up last week, thought I'd post it for some agility content. :o)




The top exercise is from clean run, though Sarah made up the black numbers. The white numbers we ran as a warm up, and then ran the outside with 180's and threadles. It was pretty fun. Boone is really starting to get the threadle now and is reacting faster. It helps when i have BIG food. :o) The black numbers were fun, although it was a bit confusing at first

I lead out and front crossed 2-3, front crossed 6-7, serp'd 9 to push out to 10. Boone did really well, although wanted really badly to take the tunnel after 4- I don't think I rotated enough the first time as he shouldn't have even looked at it.

The bottom section was also really fun- Boone's weaves were great, and I used targets to get his confidence up on the dogwalk (remember i think that part of his problem at the last trial was that he isn't sure about the contacts for some reason) He slipped once on the way up- but seemed fine and was happy to go back on.

I front crossed 2-3, the rear cross just felt too tight, and Boone wasn't able to find the entrance (something to work on!). Front crossed after the teeter, post turn at 8 into a front cross, I attempted to rear cross 10, which didn't work for boone- and then I tried rear crossing 11, again, no go. In the end I front crossed after the poles.

I think Boone handled the challenge really well. Rear crosses continue to be a bit of a challenge for him lately. All the snow is gone in my yard so I hope to get out there and start training more.

Wicca stayed home, but is going to run at league tonite. It's a really fast, open Jumpers w/ Weaves course...I'll probably pass out or have a heart attack. Blame Sarah.

Vito and Pixels Night Out

Wicca and Boone are on a break from agility for a few weeks so last night I took Pixel and Vito to the arena for agility training.


Vito had SO much fun. He showed off all his little tricks, and got lots of hot dogs, and got to work for a goodie container. That is all fun according to Vito. We worked on getting excited at the startline, and running fast. :) It was a perfect night to bring him as one of the stations was a speed circle. He had lots of fun with that and was running full out. He's pretty much the cutest thing.



Pixel had a good night too. Her frame is coming along very nicely and I am getting much more speed out of her. Last night we built up to doing the whole frame and she was great. I am still using the MM mostly, but next time will vary the reward more. We worked on lead outs, and starts. I haven't been doing many start lines with her as I found that she is slower if I lead out- but it is a skill that she is going to need so we did that a bit last night. She is still not super confident jumping 10". I only ended up doing a small amount on the speed circle as she just didn't seem that into it.

training pixel (and boone)

I took Pixel to training last night and didn't get greedy! Yay for me.

We did two sets of ten reps of half way up the frame. Two times she went into a 2on2off- I think it was my position that cued her to do that so we started again and I made sure to to try that position again. She was really driving off the frame last night so I think next time I will build up to the top of the frame.

She also did the full teeter a few times- out of a tunnel. She is very confident on it and runs to the end to wait for her cookie. All the surfing and bang it games totally paid off and she has no issue with the movement or the noise.

Boone also got to come and we worked on his teeter, weaves, and some handling. He was smokin' last night and had great weaves. I only did a small amount with him because of his busy weekend, and we have a trial this coming weekend too. I mostly wanted to get him on the frame because he had some weirdness at the seminar. Last night it was no problem though- so that's a relief!

Good Dogs

Wicca says that being a good dog is much more tiring than being a bad dog....



Wicca was super at class last night. She did a really great job of listening, and we were definitely connected. My timing continues to improve and the handling drill we did last night was evidence of that. We had a few iffy moments, but in the end did both exercises successfully and that's what is important to me.

She didn't miss any weave entries out of the four sets of six I did. We even were able to practice some distance- which we haven't been able to do for a while due to her weave issues.

We ended on a gamble- the same one we missed at regionals last year. Of course she got it the first time with no issue. Her distance skills have improved a lot since then! (or should i say my training of her distance skills....)

Oh, and the little brat did have one bad dog moment. I asked for a nose touch to my hand and instead of her forceful but accurate bop she bit me. I have a nice little blood blister in the middle of my hand now.....

---------

I brought Pixel along so we could work on the dogwalk and teeter. She did SO well.

Her teeter is a four on with a stop. She has done one or two full teeters, but mostly we do surfing, and random dropping. Last night she did great and was really driving up it. She thinks it is a pretty fun game.

The dogwalk is a 2on2off. She is really starting to get it. I did three reps of backchaining just off the end, and then we did some full dogwalks. Her nose touches remain strong and she is driving all the way to the end- no creeping. This tells me she understands her job. We did 6 full dogwalks, some from a standstill, and some from a tunnel. I practiced sending her ahead, running past, and running with her and in all three positions she stuck her contact and did her nose touches. I am very impressed with her.

She is such a good girl!

A Solid Plan

You all know I've been waffling about those stupid contacts with Pixel. I know I want to do a running on the frame, but how to teach it??!!! I've never taught a true running contact before. It's scary. I had to not only decide on a method, but decide on a method that is practical for me and my dog.

I don't have access to a frame every day. So it is really hard to do Silvia Trkman's method, or anything like that.
I have decided to use a Wicket. Any method of running contacts is going to require repetition, but with the wicket it's not as important to do it every day or as often as possible. I've been researching lots of different methods, and for my small dog I think the wicket will work pretty well.

I will take a picture today and post it- but basically it is an upside down U with feet. (similar to what I used with Wicca on the frame a while ago) Pixel will learn to run through (and duck) until it becomes just how you do it and she doesn't need the wicket anymore. Muscle Memory is essentially what we are relying on when teaching any running contact, and this method is no different.

The Plan:

Step 1- See Wicket Run. :o) On the ground- I used my manners minder, and toys to get her to understand what I wanted with the wicket. I'll continue to work on the ground for another week or so- taking the wicket to new places.

Step 2-lower frame, wicket on end...I am going to backchain at first so that I am sure she understands I don't want her to stop (remember, we've been teaching a 2on2off up until now)

Step 3- lower frame, wicket on end- running full frame.

Step 4- lower frame, wicket on end- adding challenges. Distance, Turns, my changing position etc. All of this will be done with the wicket in place.

Step 4- raise the frame, wicket on end- running full frame.

Step 5- regular frame, wicket on end- adding challenges. All the challenges we did on Step 4 will be done again on a full height frame.

Step 6- take the wicket away, randomly put it back. At this point she should be driving through the end of the board with no problems or hesitation. Her head is low, and she will run all the way off.

So, that's my plan. It may change as I go. Like I said, I've never done this before. Not sure how long each step will take, or what the time frame will be on the whole. It will be interesting! I know of a few people who've taught this way so I've seen it work. I do understand that there will be a chance that my dog might miss a contact here or there. I don't think any method is fool proof. But- this is what I have, and this is what I am comfortable with- I also think it will work.

I am excited to finally have a solid plan in my head, and a picture of what I want my dog to do on the frame. I'll be posting updates as I go.

Outreach Day 2

Day two of outreach was just as good as the first. The main focus was on Contacts and Weaves. I did the whole first part of the day with Boone as he needs most of the help with Contacts.

We started off timing all the contacts, and the weaves...then added challenges and compared the time. This was to see what was the weakest handler position for the dog. Boone is a "stand by me" kinda dog- I already knew that before the seminar. :o)

I worked Wicca in the weave portion and she had a really hard time with entries...some of it is my timing of course, but most of the entries she missed were straight ahead, on side entries. I don't think at this point much is going to change this- although I will shape those entries more at a trial...

On the handling front I had an AH HA! moment regarding commitment point...it changes. Duh. If Wicca is moving fast it is going to be farther from the obstacle than when she is unsure or slower than normal...drawing the imaginary line in the dirt really helped me with my timing on some lead out pivots...

Overall it was a pretty good weekend- there was a lot of really good review, (you can never hear the word consistency too often!) and my dogs had fun. Boone had a bit of a melt down and let me know when he was done (poor guy actually pee'd on the dogwalk in a 2on2off position...talk about stage fright!) but I was proud that he did as much as he did! Wicca was good, and I just really need to work on my timing, and my memory...the weave sequence just about killed me...

It was very nice to not feel completely overwhelmed after outreach- that must mean I am getting it finally right?

Training Pixel

I haven't posted much lately about agility with Pixel so thought I'd post an update.

Pixel is doing really well and is learning so much. She is very smart and is what I would call a thoughtful dog. She wants to get it right the first time. She is quite a lot different than Wicca that's for sure. I make sure to rev her up before each turn, and that is paying off. I would say her speed has been increasing steadily. I use high value toy rewards much more than food and that too helps to keep her "high." She is a very happy dog even in training- her tail wags all the time and there is always a smile on her face. There is nothing very serious about this dog. :o)

We have been doing small sequences for the last 8 weeks or so. She has learned all the basic patterns (pinwheel, 180, 270, and serpentines) She recognizes them right away and does them with no hesitation and quite a lot of speed. She also has learned about lead outs and is able to do a three jump lead out pivot with no problems. We are working still on all of these of course- increasing distance, and speed.

Pixel is a very nice natural jumper. I have done some grid work with her, although I wish I was able to do it more often. She understands what to do with her body to get over the bar, and jumping has a pretty high value for her. We are still working on "finding a line" and taking what's ahead of you. She will still sometimes go wide around a jump or fly blindly ahead where she thinks the toy might be thrown- but it is a work in progress.

I have spent a lot of time working on handling with her- I really do not want to have to go back and "retrain" something because I skipped it. She is very good at understanding what my motion (or lack of) means. She understands exactly what an arm change means and has no issue working close, or far away. At this point everything is broken down of course, but as I am starting to piece things together she has no problem with it.

Weave poles are coming along really well. She can find an entry from just about anywhere, and is starting to find a rhythm. I found that she had a hard time initially figuring out what to do with her body, but just in the past few weeks I think she's got it sorted it out.

Contacts are my issue. Not hers. She is quite willing to do whatever I ask. But the problem is I have been really indecisive about what I want. She has a great nose touch, and drives into position really nicely. We've been doing lots and lots of backchaining. I think in total she has done maybe three full dogwalks, and two full frames. I have decided though that I am not going to ask her to stop on the frame. I think that I will have a little hesitation at first because of the backchaining into 2on2off position, but once she understands that the reward comes for moving I think she'll get it quick. I am bit worried to give up that control, but I think in the long run it will prevent a lot of stress for me (and for her body). I am still going to ask for a 2on2off on the dogwalk- there is no way I will EVER beat her across...the angle is a lot less severe, so I am not worried about her body as much. I have a plan now about how I am going to teach the running frame. There is SO much information out there it is quite amazing. I have decided though that I am going to use Silvia's method mostly, and modify it for my own needs. It means lots, and lots, and lots of repetitions on a really low a-frame to start. I'll try and remember to post each session on the blog.

And that's pretty much it. I am excited for how well my training has paid off so far...I remember being SO stressed out about doing everything "just so." I do know that without the help of Kim, Terry, and of course Sarah I'd probably still be playing crate games... :o)

Oh, one of my other "goals" for 2010 is to be more organised on my blog. I am going to start tagging all my posts so I can look back and find trial results, training posts, and photos...