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Wheeewww I got to sleep in this morning to a whopping 6:30 š“
For now, prioritize getting the FEOs in rather than avoiding because they might be more crowded. You can set up the pre-run stuff so that he is a far as needed from any crowds
I need to keep hearing this. Iām hoping to do UKI in a couple of weeks so I can bring the toy in and do a ton of feo. Iām toying with the idea of the USDAA regional with some FEO thrown in because itās more chill and generally a supportive environment. My goal is to run him in something at the open-idk if thatās unrealistic or not but I need something to work towards
About being out too early ā can you bring a portable crate or cot or mat nearby in case it turns out there are 3 more years before your run?
He doesnāt settle well in a crate if he can see agility. It is not a relaxed state. Iāve done some cot work in less busy areas but he tends to get more worried about dogs passing than if I keep him moving. I really liked him in between my feet- but 8.5 minutes is too long for anything. I got him out at 7 dogs before with only 2 height changesā¦ š
<block quote> you got the down, but then moved him
I did get the down but what started my spiral is that I asked for a through my legs to come on my side. He didnāt get that correct and just did the down.
I do think he will be a more of an all business guy because he wants to get into the down and start. When you say cartoon crouch do you mean like at home or is it something I did on the runs?Will he tug on the leash at the end?
not yet. Weāve been going directly to cheese. He stands patiently for me to put his leash on- like weāve done it that way for centuries š¤£
Iām struggling as mention with the mental game. I canāt control the environment and just part of my having reactive dogs was always being aware of whatās around. Coming out all of our runs except fast, were three large intact males for all runs so I wanted to get him out and away as fast as possible. Heās super high coming off too- which I love but he could very easily make poor choices if heās not with mama so tugging would be good if I got farther away. This layout was another thing that stressed me. It wasnāt super easy to get away on Saturday. Sunday was much better because everyone left and I could get out. He was also less reactive Sunday because no Irish setters scared him.I do think his strides looked short running but I think that was a dirt issue and not stressā¦
If you have any š§ prep with instructors that you recommend, lmk. I donāt do the best with independent studies. Interacting with feedback gives me dopamine as opposed to none on my own.
Sorry for being needy this morning! I truly apologize and hope your trial went well. I posted back to back again and was worried I messed up the order.
I didnāt run T2B this AM, it was our only chance for FEO. I didnāt know when I entered how yesterday would go so I only did it once. Iām still very intimidated by the combined classes- over 60 dogs entered in T2B this morning. I will work on my confidence.
Mentally, I was spent by the time I got to this run. Callie was up for her MACH- missed it by failed attempt to turn her on the DW- went to the jump straight but got jumpers š
Carrie had camper trouble so I drove her in as well and had been up since 3:30 AMWith that being said, I wanted to scratch all day but hung in for standard. I elected to not run jumpers. Amy got the pre run which was pretty good- aside from me again having him out to early but novice takes forever. He did really good chill at my feet.
What made me scratch was how our start went. I almost walked off. They were loading equipment and there was some banging. He wouldnāt do any trick I asked other than lie flat to the ground, but when I asked if he was ready, he did seem like he wanted to go. I decided to see what happens- this was hard, I was about to combust, but he looked pretty darn good considering.
Carrie and Amy encouraged me to do jumpers because he did so well, but I really didnāt want to push him. Iām not sure if that was the right choice, but he had a good time all weekend and I didnāt want to chance ending poorly.I really need to work my mental management of this. Heās been brilliant and amazing and done everything Iāve askedā¦ and Iām handling him like heās fragile and waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was hoping with a few trials under my belt, Iād relax some, but that hasnāt yet been the case.
I am surprised you can wear the cookie pockets into the ring! You can leave those (with cookies in them) as your reward station.
This was my leash in pocket solution since I canāt wear a jacket at 90Ā° running. I figured since people can wear their Hurrta training vest, why canāt I wear a training skirt?
I will work on my leash work at a calmer trial. Iām not mentally read for it, although he probably isā¦We are showing again today. Hoping it will be more low key because itās the end of the trial and most people leave.
I probably can get a bigger lead out, Iām just not good at those because Callie doesnāt have one so I feel like getting to the landing side is SOOOO FAR š¤£. I watched the video and was like oh it took one step past the landing side
Jumpers and Standard
He was a bit reactive with afternoon. I almost didnāt run jumpers because I was worried about his š§ but Carrie pushed me. Doing our engagement stuff kept his eyes on me, it was just the spaces in between that were harder. There were a lot of scary 24ā dogs (3 that worried him)
We walked through the crating around open classes and some Irish setters charged their crates at him so he was on extra alert for the rest of the afternoon but we survived. I worked really hard in his runs to talk to him before starting and NOT FIX ANYTHING.
He did do weaves- I asked for them š š¶āš«ļø But had decided I would not ask again if he missed.
Also I need to eliminate the lie down when I call table because this is twice heās tried to hit the deck and not the table first.
Also sorry I donāt have the pre run stuff. Phone is on a tripod and Carrie is my village today.
Combined fast
This is the class that makes me most nervous because itās the busiest for him. I hung back as best I could. Support crew was supporting so the phone was on a tripod. Unfortunately I didnāt get my pre run. He tugged, played the cookie toss game- until he decided he no longer liked Mississippi mud dusted cheese. He offered a good bit of engaged chill in a down by my side as well as a down in between my feet.This ring ran so fast that I didnāt have food waiting for me. He tugged on the way out and the wouldnāt again once he stopped. He still comes off much higher than he went- but this can come with reactivity. For my next run, Iāll try to place a station or food on a person, unfortunately where the chairs are, itās super congested with people waiting.
Happy with what he was giving me. I think the jump was my placement but also checking out the judge?
Well we did a short practice at Carrieās tonight. Mostly small sequencing and Fever going back to the pool
I asked Carrie about blocking it off but she said it still doesnāt change the fact that heās leavingā¦Anyway towards the end of our session, a sheltie broke out of an ex pen and ran at him.
Both postured, Fever growled a little BUT NO ONE THREW HANDS
thank god because Fever was like 3x the sheltie and it belonged to a junior.Anyway. Juniors gathered sheltie calmly, which then allowed me to walk to Fever and feed him. He took food but was then spooked, shut down after
Anything that I should do knowing we are showing Saturday and Sunday? Should I not train?
More back yardinā. I will hopefully train with Carrie later this week
Since heās trialing this weekend, I always like to practice line ups at RR (always- this will be our third AKC trial š¤£)
So I may have found a small gap in our training here. Iām not sure heeling has context when the leash came off and he was released. He kept offering a downā¦ like why would we do anything but agility, frizz, swim, or lie down?
Iām happy with what heās offering but need to brush up on the heeling. You mentioned doing the heeling with RR games but I feel like I missed a step. Was the release too much?I also practiced some fun lead outs. I was going for fun frolicking š¤£
He was digging the tug on the leash but he really doesnāt want to tug on the leash that ended up in his mouth and wasnāt the bumper. He kept spitting it out in our last rep šš¤£. I buy another leash to practice. Itās got a sheepskin bar on it and I think he will love it. Itās coming from Poland.
We had our 1 year follow up with the behaviorist Thursday. I had a fairly long discussion with her about Fever and meds. I told her I was really hesitant to change things because he had been doing well, but I really trusted and valued your thoughts on daily meds and wanted to have her thoughts also.
Ultimately she said sheās had the best success with Zoloft BID in sporting dogs but has also used some SNRIs too. We are going to give Zoloft a try after our trial next weekend and try to titrate up.
Im very happy with where he is at here but he does still spook often from sounds so if he can be even better, Iām very happy with that.
She also said that I do I great job of managing his needs but maybe this would mean I donāt have to work so hard at it- which would be nice because it can be a bit exhausting.
Thank you for bringing it up that first week. I would not have thought to consider it. And again, just thank you for all the help, support, and positive environment you provide. I cannot express enough how much it means to me and is needed š„°Youāre going to hate me a little (or a lot)ā¦ to develop the volume dial games into things that can be taken to a trial or training scenario AND be used to overcome the kryptonite, use tricks and games that can be done outside the ringā¦ which eliminates long frisbee tosses just as it eliminates the pool/swimming. Short tosses that he can just pop up and grab in front of you? Sure! Vaults off your belly
No hate here! I could never, you’ve been so helpul
Toy selection has been a challenge for us for sure. I chose the frizz because it was a new location and we’d be there for a bit. That being said, he really likes his bumpers too. I need to try bumper versus frizz on the string.I felt like he was doing a great job of small strikes on cue when we first started but didn’t have much interest by the time we got to the cookie/toy pattern game. I could tell he wanted to play, because he kept picking the frizz up- idk if it was because there was food too or just because we had been going on for a bit. I did let him take a quick nap between our second to last and last sessions- he was out cold in the car.
Remote reinforcement started off well, he was great on that first rep with the frisbee behind him! And I think the first rep is the most important. Yay! So now add in things like walking with you and tricks with you, rather than wing wraps ā think of it as moving from the entry gate to the start line and all you have is yourself
Should I start incorporating leash play into this also?
Pattern games ā He is beginning to recognize these, which is what we want
It made me really happy that he was so sticky and eyes on me for this part.
Wow you hit me with a nice therapy session there.
If yesā¦ then you have to work through it. If he will leave āworkā at the home base practice area, then you are guaranteed struggles in the ring and life skills
š¤Æš¤Æš¤Æ thanks for the rational thoughts here. I know I should, but itās been a struggle and not reinforcing for me but when you say it like thatā¦
We went to the new lot for a second time and worked. Pretty happy work what he was offering with our pool and just Roulez screaming.
You can see who else is traveling to trials or seminars, and hook up with them!
Sigh, unfortunately my circle is really small here. I just need to get comfortable with him on my own.
So I went to Carrieās yesterday and tried a longer volume dial walk in without swimming. I definitely had moments of high arousal but it was more of a struggle than I care for.
I think this is a double edge sword because Iāve used the pool so much to help his arousal when we were really struggling and if he just gets a quick swim, heās much better about working. How much should I fight this struggle- itās not super motivating to me to work throughI shouldnāt have started that close to the pool. It was the coolest/most shaded area but was a poor choice otherwise.
So take this to different places so we get a better handle on what helps him most. What is up next on his training/trialing/social calendar?
We have a trial next weekend and a seminar mid may. Unfortunately it’s mostly AKC down here, and I anticipate that I won’t have Carrie for many of the next few months, so I’m feeling really anxious/demotivated on trialing.
He’s been brilliant and such a good boy, so I need to get him entered in things.
So we played with releases. I did business only and silly
Except I felt silly and on review I look like a normal ass person.
For the āsillyā which really is just me being normal- I kept forgetting to tell him to stay (heās not breaking because there was never a stay command). I feel like youāll say I should have rehearsed first, and youād be right.
Iād say he rates this session 10/10
