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Hi,
Yes, I see that I need to stop using, “go!” as much as I do! Something to work on, along with keeping my arm down! Back to putting a glass of wine in my hand. Change is hard. I understand what you are saying about my position to that line.
This week’s stuff… Today I did the TSA set up. Sort of. With a a gate, plus two chairs. All went well until I tried incorporating it into one of the sequences. Then at jump 4 she hightailed it to the treat chair. Okay, back to breaking that into two parts. I almost opted to put an inflation on the chair. Good thing I didn’t. I will noodle with the high arousal games in the next couple days. Something we need to master!
The #1 sequence on the complex ones was a bit of a challenge, for sure. Though once I removed the chair and treats from the equation, we made it through okay. Though certainly not as smooth as it could have been. The arousal and distraction thing! I think we are getting rain, possibly snow, tomorrow, so it will be a couple days before anymore courses, but I might be able to sneak in some of the other games. Here is the video of sequence #1.
Ack! My long post disappeared. Anyway…
Class went well yesterday! Though still some focus issues, not too bad. Plenty of good work. I even opted to try weaves, which have been perfect at home, but I didn’t want to mess with it elsewhere. She was perfect. Since no one else showed up, we got in about 45 minutes of solid work.
Today, we opted to set the course in the same spot, as the trail cam revealed that a skunk was what has been out there at night. A bit too much of a distraction. So, I walked the option of a RC at 5, I got the concept, and saw why it would work. But running a dog, it just didn’t happen! We tried at least 10 times! Maybe it was too close to the trees, the lighting, who knows. At one point she stopped as I tried to cross and she knocked me down. I don’t bounce well anymore! OTOH, if driving ahead is what this sequence was to teach us, I’d say she did indeed get the memo! She did throw in a few more jumps than I wanted in the second one, but I was still happy with it.
Greetings,
I know you are busy with the national, so a quick one. When we set the course back up, after the rain goes through, I want to move it to a different area, so it will actually seem new, but we can work on the same things. This course was super useful to work on handling! So I will try that extra RC at 5. When I looked at the map I printed, and marked, yes, that would be good. I also need to go back to working on the #3 sequence, as she was in crazy mode when I ran that one, so just quit. She’s a great worker, but also loves to run! Which really, after what we went through a year ago, is a good thing! Onward!
Thanks again for the advice! This has all helped my handling, Paul’s too, immensely.The first video was yesterday. The second one today. We did many reps on this one today, with a break at one point for Chitlin’s turn. She just got better, and more focused, as I find my dogs often do. If I feel they aren’t making progress, I quit for the day. If they want to continue to work, we do.
Good afternoon,
We worked on the remaining sequences on the driving ahead games. Yesterday was one of those days in training a teenage dog that one chooses to forget. It is a challenge training in the same yard as you exercise and play fetch in. I run into less issues in the pasture but there’s not enough level ground for this sort of course. So we we had many, “yeehaw”, blasting around moments. She’s a young dog, it’s top priority. Not all the pattern games in the world, or treats or tugs can override it. We did get a lot of training in however. Bit and pieces. The first video was from yesterday. After this we worked on the final sequence, with moderate success, but I wasn’t happy with how *I* was handling. I should have saved the videos to show you that yes, I learned from watching what I did wrong! Plus Paul ran these with Chitlin and it made your notes on the video make sense when I was explaining what would work better. Another, “yay”. Both of us running this sequence and talking through it was good. Plus Paul watched your videos.
Also, before I send videos, class. Things went very well. She worked in a couple of her, “stations” (gated sections with dogs working simultaneously four at a time) with a dog a person sitting in the ring. She got a big lesson that not every dog wants to visit, when she charged over to a Dachshund being held by his owner, and he growled and snapped, appropriately so. The next time she was in the same ring with a little spitz type and owner. Even with me setting her up in a stay, nearby, she paid no attention. This class is working well for her. She does her little recalls, like the pattern games, with treat tosses, while the instructor is walking the ring. Perfect. The videos.
Oh, I’ll add, no treat, toy, or MM placement seemed to work, so I went with praise and treats or tug at the end.Also, I know you said just to go, no lead out, but that just wasn’t working for me, so I opted to put her in a stay. She was still plenty motivated on the end line. Ignore all the, nonstop barking. Skiffle never shuts up if he’s left inside. One of those, “Whippets don’t bark”, along with the aloof type. Those don’t live here 😂
Good afternoon,
We worked on the driving ahead games. Starting yesterday, with some back chaining. No videos, but it went pretty well. My dogs tend to love to run that end line. I say that Biscuit is all about the, “happy ending” 😁 Kishka appears to enjoy this also. I fooled around with a few, end of run, treats or toys. Nothing was really 100%. If I throw a toy she catches it and runs. Yeah, eventually she comes back, not something I want to encourage. I have some el cheapo Blue Buffalo treats called, “nudges”, that are in a handy plastic container. That worked perfectly! I do not no what is wandering around in my yard at night, but they dogs have gotten very distracted out there. She was better than Biscuit with the sniffing, but still a minor lapse of reason. Here are the videos we got today.
Good morning.
A couple things. The class we are doing is set up so there are four dogs in four rings working at the same time. The instructor is in the ring, sort of judge like, at different times. She’s getting good with that, even doing some pattern type games with recalls, off lead, with him walking around. Total focus. However…when we first get in the building she is nuts to see him. Over the top, crazy. So, this was the same with the leash runner at the trial. Visit, but then settle and return to me. All of my dogs, for decades, have been this way. It’s when I’ve envied my friends with aloof, non friendly Whippets that just want to cling to them. So, yes, when we do the next club run thrus, I’ll add more people to the ring. We did this for one person’s Golden.
Yes! She ran to her lead, with attached fuzzy ball. My mistake! This happened at a trial (speedway one) once. I have been teaching her to, “get yer leash!”, at the end of a run. I need to be more careful of where I throw it! I had planned to run these again yesterday with your suggestions, but all the jumps blew down and we picked them up. So today. It’s a very useful pattern for not just tunnel discrimination, but running ahead and turning. I did see, when watching again, I totally sent her to the wrong entrance.
Thanks!Greetings!
Trying to play catch up here. We did the tunnel discrimination games today. It went pretty well. I opted to skip #2 as I didn’t have the extra jump up from the barn. Last Friday she was entered in three CPE speedway runs, tunnels and hoops. We did training in the ring. It went pretty well, she was fast, happy, and took tunnels at distance. She did visit the leash runner, and the secretary’s desk, but returned pretty quickly. She’s getting better at working with other dogs and people working in adjoining rings at our little training class. Her contacts are great, well ahead and waiting, when I say, “wait!”.
Here are the videos from today. She did get #3 wrong the first time, but still pretty brisk, and no doubt she read something in my body language, or just auto pilot. I think doing #4 was the longest sequence we’ve done here, so I was happy with it.
I did some spins, backing, hand touch. No food in the ring, so only running with a toy. The wait area is outside, in grass, that would have been a food tossing issue. When we get back to the club run thrus I can do some of those things. We will get there. A little at a time. She has a good foundation and lots of enthusiasm.
Oh, I forgot to mention, this was at the speedway trial yesterday. In a very open, unfamiliar, dirt area. Lots of barking dogs, lots of people. So a good final experience for her. She was very happy, and visiting a friend, after we ran.
Just a quick one here. Yes! She did well with me running with the tug. Not in the first run, she was completely overwhelmed, but did blast through some tunnels, and came in to me after visiting and exploring. The second run, better, driving into the tug a few times, still chaotic. By the third run, we got through the entire course, five tunnels and multiple hoops, coming to me on the tug several times. We called it a success and ended on that. ☺️
Good afternoon. Though we took the course down today, to work on some speedway stuff, barrels and hoops, we will set it up again this weekend to work on your suggestions. Yeah… I always set up too close. Paul mentions it often. As for holding the tug, I tried that today, while doing the barrels, and getting her to drive in to me on the tug. That went pretty well, and I will try it tomorrow as I want to do a couple FEO runs in speedway. She has Qd many times in this, but focus has been an issue in the first couple classes, so dialing it back with training in the ring. I use, “bite” as a cue also. Though sometimes… the bite happens before cued.
So I will try these suggestions soon! That course is a good one to work with.
Thanks!Greetings!
These suggestions make sense, yes. So before we took the course down I wanted to try to implement them. I wasn’t going to have Paul video, but decided, why not. She did have a bit of distraction from the delivery, which was really a good thing. It was minor though. It went well. Especially the 6-9, 10 we had a bit of a bobble. I try not to be holding a tug or food because she can get focused on it. Delivery of said tug, however, is often late. So I decided to sent the results.
As is usual, much Skiffle barking in the background.
Thanks!
