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Thanks Tracy!
Cowboy was having a blast! So much so that when it was time to leave he kept trying to move towards the ring gate instead of the exit door!
I think the added traction is giving him more confidence so I will continue looking for opportunities to do these session on both artificial turf and grass.
Thanks so much, Tracy!
Today, we did more teeter (one table) games! The table is still at 20″ but now I have added more motion. Cowboy appears to be really comfortable going across the board but the added movement made it hard for him to consistently maintain the 2O/2O position. I found myself doing a lot of “fake running” which seemed to help. I will continue at this level and slowly build in my motion.
Video: Teeter Table Game with More Motion
This was so much fun!
It’s starts off slowly and gets better from there. I didn’t do any crosses but I did add jumps so Cowboy got to enter the poles from different angles (sorry, I didn’t realize that some of the jumps are off screen).
There were a couple of mistakes due to sloppy handling on my part but I am really excited about this session because this is the first time he has done anything like this and he handled it incredibly well!
Video: Weave Pole Practice with Jumps (poles 1-4)
I had a look at the elevator game videos and even after practicing my mechanics with the invisible dog, I thought I might wait on this one for the time being! 🙂
I did try the teeter-table game using just one table. The table is set at 20″ (down from 24″) resulting in the board being about parallel to the floor. I believe this is the greatest amount of tip that Cowboy has ever seen so even though I know the goal is to run across the board, I moved very slowly because I didn’t want to risk a fly-off.
Cowboy appeared to want to go faster so I did add a bit more motion towards the end and he appeared to be just fine.Video: Teeter Table Game with One Table
Cowboy will Love that! Thanks Tracy ☺
Just to clarify:
* 4 poles
* 1st set at 12 & 6
* 2nd set at 2 & 8 or 3 & 9 (?)This was not one of our better training sessions. My reward timing was totally off, so much so that I had to remove the Manners Minder because I kept hitting the dispense button too early and it was causing confusion. I also let this session go on longer than I had planned.
When I switched to the Lotus Ball, things improved and there were some very good moments. The best part takes place off-camera. There were several people who were curious and came over to watch the show including a guy with a cute little Sheltie (doing the typical Sheltie things :). This could have easily spiraled out of control and Cowboy was very aware of the audience. However, he stayed reasonably engaged with just the occasional glance at our visitors. Love this guy!
Video: Outdoor Weaves 1-6
Excellent feedback as usual, Tracy!
I plan to re-do this later in the week. However, I thought for today, I would revisit the Bang Game and add in more motion.
I started off just walking past Cowboy and had 100% success. However, when I added some running steps, he didn’t stop and kept moving with me. I did manage to find a sweet spot where I could run a little but still had to stop once I passed him or he would move off the board.
All good things to know! 🙂
Video: The Bang Game with More Motion
Today I revisited the teeter-table game. The last time we did this the lower table was set at 12″. This time, I lowered it to 8″ (the upper table is 24″) In addition, I am using a target plate on the lower table and have the Manners Minder about 8′ away (off-screen)
I loved how happy Cowboy was to move across the board, even with the additional tip. However, I do have a question regarding the exact criteria for the game. Should the emphasis be on running across the board (and continue running) or should it be on moving into the end position? I would like to try this again but want to make sure I am doing this correctly.
Video: Teeter Table Game with 8″ Table
Thanks Tracy! That all makes sense.
When is the last date that we can submit videos? Cowboy and I didn’t train today and I will probably not do any agility on Sunday but it would be nice to send something with 4 poles before the close of this class.
Haven’t played with the weave poles all week so I rented the agility ring for a practice session. Although I take classes here, Cowboy is enrolled in a foundation class and has not yet done weave poles at this facility.
Like all of the other places, he headed straight for the Manners Minder and ignored the weave poles. Like all of the other places, I broke down the set-up and rebuilt it as he gained confidence.
The video is on the longer side but the overall working session was very short. I spent a lot of the time tossing a ball or food between reps.In the video, there are moments when Cowboy was moving slowly and others where he is starting to get the idea of driving through. I am not sure if this is related to Cowboy sorting out his striding, me increasing my own movements (or both!) . In addition, I added wing wraps about 2/3 of the way in set at about 3:00 and 8:00 but the 3:00 wing is not in view on the video.
Right before we were about to leave, I switched out the “Manners Minder” with a “Lotus Ball” since that is what I will be using for show n’ go’s and agility workshops. It was his first time seeing one and it looks like he loves the thing!
Video: Cowboy Weave Poles 1 – 6
Thanks so much, Tracy!
We were at it again today and the red target plate made a tremendous difference. The real challenge this time was moving into place. As soon as I got within a certain distance of the teeter, Cowboy would freeze and stare (must have been talking to the Border Collie!)
Video: Bang Game 2O/2O Practice
Yay! This was a great explanation!
I noticed he didn’t appear to acknowledge the target but wasn’t sure how that and where I was located played into his finding the 2O/2O position. I will try this again.
In addition, would using the Treat n’ Train help at all? In that way, Cowboy gets rewarded without me being there or would it cause confusion when it is time to fade it out of the picture?
Thanks so much Tracy!
It doesn’t appear that Cowboy was bothered by the noise but I do wonder if I should have done that warm-up rep because it looks like he was a little surprised when the degree of tip increased within the same session.
I looked around the training center to see if I could find something that would be a little less drastic but came up empty and was very relieved when he adapted after a couple of passes.
Today, I worked on the Bang Game and also added more tip. I started with the tab leash and then did a few without it only because when I used the tab he would repeatedly do a “4 on” and I found myself asking a second time to get the 2O/2O. I also tried to remember the “Lava Zone” towards the end of the session.
Video: Bang Game with more tip
