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We finally got around to trying the Moving Target pre-game. I was impressed that I was able to drop the toy and he held his Wait.
We also tried to do the Moving version of the game and again, he did great.
I was at an agility trial yesterday and brought Teagan along. He did awesome walking in the building, meeting new people and meeting another lab puppy. It was a good resilience walk for him.
Laura & Teagan
Another nice day in the NE. Today’s exercise was Wrap Proofing. I was pleasantly surprised that he is understanding the wrap verbals. I think once again I lost connection in a few places and he was distracted at times knowing there was cheese in my hand.
We also tried another round of Smiley Face Games. I am happy with how well he is handling this game.
I know you keep saying to keep the sessions short so he does not get tired, but honestly I have yet to tire this puppy out. After the first session today, he came in and wanted to go work in the inside training room. Teagan has yet to lie down and rest if he is loose in the house. He never settles for very long, I need to put him in his crate to make him rest and give me a break. He is extremely active…the “Energizer Labrador”. I am having a hard time figuring what to do to get him to settle in the house while he is loose, especially if the other 3 dogs are also loose. He will go to place if he is the only dog out, but will not stay there for an extended period of time. Any other suggestions you might have are greatly appreciated.
Laura & Teagan
Tracy,
The weather is nice today, so I was able to set up a tunnel (I hate moving tunnel bags, UGH!) and my vertigo is much improved (Yah!). We worked the Smiley Face Games exercises. First, I realized he was not familiar with a curved tunnel. He got over that quickly. Then I had trouble with the mechanics, since there was not a jump bump/bar between the stantions, it could seem like a backside rather than a wrap, I also had to get my verbals straight. A review of the video and I think I got it. The big lump in my back is his tug toy, LOL.
In the first video, he breaks off toward the end. I thought he was tiring, so I rewarded him and ended the session. Turns out he needed a potty break. We waited and did another session later.
The second video, we added in a few front crosses and tried working with a toy in my hand. This was difficult for him, but he did work for me, a huge accomplishment.
Laura & Teagan
Tracy,
I tried this exercise with jump bumps and he sort of galloped over them, not really jumping. Is that okay?
Laura
It’s a windy day, but Teagan and I were able to try the Set Point game. Thankfully, this game didn’t require much from me as I am still recovering from the vertigo. I used jumps set at 8″ that are locked in. As an aside, and bit of my agility history, the jumps I used for this game were bought circa 2002 when I started Brodie’s agility training with you.
We went straight to the advanced version as we had already done the baby level on our own. Teagan breezed through this game.
Laura & Teagan
Hi Tracey,
Teagan and I are glad to be back for MaxPup2. We took advantage of a nice day to work on Feel the Wind in Your Hair. Teagan did great with this exercise. I was having a little trouble as I was dealing with a bad episode of vertigo, which caused me to make slow small movements. I had to make sure to stay connected after the wrap for him to go over the jump. You will see a few times he went around the jump, because I was not connected to him.
Laura & Teagan
Tracy,
Thanks so much for the detailed info regarding starting obstacles. I have always taken it slow with my Labs and Lindsey (the rescue), always planning on it taking 2 years to train them to be ready to compete. This approach has kept my boys and Lindsey running until they were double digits in age and with few injuries, always minor.
Laura
Snow today, so we were inside. Worked on Lateral Lead Out. He did well with this.
Then we did some Simple Decel Reps. He did great with this.
Amazingly, we have worked through most of the exercises. There are still 2 in Week 12, but not sure we will get to them tomorrow. We still do need to work some advanced levels on some of the exercises, but it gives us stuff to work on over the next few weeks. Considering taking MAXPup 2 with him.
Question, at what age do you start introducing the various obstacles to your young dogs?
Thanks for all the great lessons and your awesome feedback. We have learned a lot and still have a lot more to learn.
Laura & Teagan
We are lucky to still be working outside. I tried the Reverse Spin and I think this time I have it correct with a little bit of decompression built in after he snatched the toy our of my pocket. I don’t have 2 barrels, so I used wings instead.
We also tried Serps. This still needs some work, but he is starting to get it.
And Threadles, where we are still having trouble. He comes to the threadle side but goes around the entire jump.
Finally, we worked on Turn & Burn. This is definitely better than his first try at it.
Laura & Teagan
Weather is still cooperating, so we worked outside. We worked various angles on the tunnel, but I did not video. He did well. I tried the Rocking Horses with Spin, but I was doing a BC instead of a spin. When you say spin do you mean what some call a reverse spin?
We did try Serps/Threadles with movement. He did well with the Serps but not so much with the Threadles. I hope you can tell me what I’m doing wrong.
Laura & Teagan
A warm February day meant, work outside. We did a bunch of Tunnel work using the MM this time. I think I combined the baby level and the Tunnel Threadle version in this session. He did well this time around with the tunnel and I added the verbal.
While I was in the yard on the phone with a friend during this session, I did the Find My Face exercise. He nailed it, but I did not video it. Yesterday we did the Resilience pattern exercise exercise while we went to the mailbox. He handled this well. Again, I did not video it.
Finally, We worked on Minny Pinny. He blew me away with how easy this was for him. Next time I will add the verbals. I have never had much luck using Left and Right, but I am going to see how it goes with Teagan.
Laura & Teagan
Today we tried Arousal Mgmt. Again, we worked inside for less distraction.
Then we did Happy Stays. I realized I need to do this with set-ups on both sides. He’s better on my left, but we will keep working the right side.
Follow-up question regarding MAXPup2, in a number of the exercises in the current class, we have not yet worked the Advanced level exercises. Will this impact what we can do if we take MAXPup2?
Laura & Teagan
We took Sunday off, but were back to training today. As we were doing 2 new exercises I chose to work inside, for less distraction.
We worked on Backside Wrap. His start line is getting better and I think he did well with this exercise.
We also tried Backside Slice. Again, he is doing better sitting and did well wit this exercise.
Question: I see that you are starting a MAXPup2 in March. Do you think Teagan is doing well enough in MAXPup to move on? Second question, I also saw there is a MAXPup3 coming up. Will there be another MAXPup3?
We are back outside today, yay!! Worked on Strike a Pose Threadles. He actually did well with this. He seems to be getting it. There are two videos for Threadles.
I finally got around to pulling out a tunnel. We didn’t quite do this the same as you demonstrated, but I did manage to get him going through the tunnel. Next time I will get out more tunnel bags, as I will be able to open it up more.
Laura & Teagan
It’s raining today, so we are back inside. Worked on Jump Bumps aka Cavalettis. I thought I paused the video, but I wound up with 2 videos. I put more space between them and this worked well. He’s still looking at my hands, but hopefully that will eventually go away.
We also tried the Beginning Remote Reinforcement exercise. He did better with this than I expected, though he did knock something off the table I used. I used Charlee Bears as a low value treat, for our first try at this.
Laura & Teagan
