[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

I need to work on that throwing. lol.

Got out at lunch today to do the baby steps of the ladder grid. First 2 reps with 3 jumps were a little off, then he corrected himself for the last 2 reps. This is the whole session.

Then did a couple of set ups – I don’t often practice in front of a jump, so took advantage of them. I t was funny – he is usually stronger coming in on the right side, but today his heel looked better. Disregard me almost falling over on the first one – I am working today, not day drinking!

Thanks,

Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

He came home last May, so he was here all of last summer and it was definitely cooler here when he arrived than it was in Mexico (May is their hottest time).

Today, I had great plans to break his training into 2 sessions. Got my am session done before going herding – the left turn RC of Wind in My Hair. Not sure what I was doing that caused him to annihilate the jump. Got all prepared in the late afternoon to start the ladder grid work, go outside and it’s starting to rain. Threw some dics for him instead. ARGH.

Thanks,

Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

Yes, he likes rollers and I think if I use a small soft disc or a gummy disc, that might go better for rewarding. That disc from yesterday is super heavy (to combat some of the wind).

He does heat up quickly and he likes cold weather. I was worried about how he’d handle his first winter (coming from Mexico City) and he loved it – would roll around in the snow (literally).

Today we tried the Wind in Your Hair, baby level with rear cross. I have done a little RC work with him – not a ton recently. I have a verbal that I use only for RC on a jump (“swing”). It has been terrific for Dellin – even if I get really far behind, if I cue swing she knows to take the jump and turn away. So I’m going to use the same verbal for Judge.

I ended up doing a whole bunch of reps on the first side and kind of used him up, so only a couple on the second side. We’ll revisit tomorrow.

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

Tried out the Zig Zag baby steps today – that went well (maybe I was doing it wrong, lol). The I re-did the Minny Pinny – trying to get the spacing better for him. Not sure if I succeeded on that front.

The frisbee is a bit awkward for the rewarding, but it’s what he really wants and it keeps him engaged. I had been using it for something else and I did not go back to the house to change toys.

I keep forgetting to video his line up – he pivots into side or heel for the set up. He loves to pivot, so we don’t struggle there. I’ll try to remember to video it.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

I’ll watch that arm on the serp and go back and re-try the FC.

Today we did find the jump – 3 reps at 15 feet and then 3 at 20 feet. 10 feet seemed too close for his size. Sorry about the camera work – needed a bit more zoom on some of those reps.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

We did the serps with a toy target and I moved the wing out a bit more. I looked at your comments before going out, but I did not rewatch the lesson video, so I think those front cross reps were not right!

Thanks,

Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

Perfect day to be outside today and the weekend looks good too. Looking forward to being outside and getting some training done 🙂

We did baby steps of the serpentine and the Minny Pinny.

He has not seen the serp in quite a while, so I did a couple reps without the wing to remind him. Wing is about 10 feet from jump. OMG – I needed to shut up on that right side! Dellin could have done 12 off course obstacles while I was still yammering. Good news – he seems to do better with my motion than that certain red dog did at this age.

Then some Minny Pinny – he seems better going left – at least in this session. I have not noticed to him to have a real dominant side yet, so I will watch that.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

Better weather today, so did another round of smiley face and wrap discrimination with the big tunnel. I worked on the tunnel exits, but the camera was too zoomed in, so I’ll have to re-do those. Hoping to catch up on some of the games as the weather starts to improve.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

A great day today – 60 and sunny and a weekend!

We did the first step of smiley face – the first 2 reps he was grabbing for the toy, then he sorted that out. The Big Lug can wrap himself pretty tight around those wings 🙂

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

Holy Cow! That worked so well!! The video is a little long- I left in the treat parts – bringing him back to the wing. This is such good info. he had one mistake and I just added more cookies to bring him down a bit more.

Things are drying out – I should be able to get back to some of the other games in the yard.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

We had snow, then a bunch of rain. I can see the ground, but it’s too wet to go out or he’ll destroy the yard. Hoping for a quick dry out.

“Jump” is my take it in extension cue. When I do Wind in My Hair again, I will use GO and stay back so he drives ahead.

That last wing/tunnel session, I cut out a lot of mistakes where he was taking the tunnel. I did a session on the other side today (left wrap) and it went quite a bit better. I have left all of the reps on the video. Total work time was about 5 minutes, most of it tugging which is cut out. Once I gave him that tunnel, it took a lot to get him back!

I also got back to working on the tunnel threadle since I can do that inside with my small tunnel (no video). Trying to make the best of it… while wanting to be outside.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

The snow from Sunday melted so I got out this afternoon before more snow came tonight for some more wind in my hair – I’m trying to throw the toy earlier. I wasn’t going to haul out a tunnel and all the bags with the snow coming, so I’ll have to try smiley face after this snow melts (hoping this is the end of it).

Then we went inside and tried the wrap verbal/discrimination with the short training tunnel and wing. A total disaster. Could not keep him out of the tunnel. I need A LOT more space than I have inside.

Thanks,

Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

Yeah for my big space 🙂 The second jump was locked at 6″. He saw his conditioning person this week and he said I could safely do up to 10″ at his age, so next time I do set point, I’ll do 8″ and then move to 10″ after that. We also are thinking he may be a 20″ dog, so we’ll see what the wicket says, when I can get one to use.

I beat the rain today and started Wind in My Hair. I did the baby level – walking, then jogging. My toys throws felt awkward – like it would have been better if the toy was on the ground. And I don’t know why I keep saying his wrap cue for soooo long after he has taken the jump. Yikes when I saw that on the video.

Our weather is going bad – rain turning to ice to snow, so I may lose the yard for a couple of days. Hopefully it misses you in Chicago (glad I’m not needing to travel tomorrow back to MN). I hate this time of year – it was 70 on Friday- SO CLOSE to Spring. Then back to winter gear.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,
I went right to 6’ spacing. Did 2 per side with stationary toy, then 2 per side with moving toy. And I overdid it on the space after the jump lol. Spatial relations is not my strong point.

We’re expecting rain this weekend, so wanted to get this in in case I get washed out.

Thanks,
Joan

[agilitywawa]

Hi Tracy,

Here are some set points. We did a little of this last Fall before winter set in, so it’s not brand new to him. The space is 5’.

Thanks,
Joan

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