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We got there early and acclimated to the environment. Let her sniff until she was ready to engage. Then did the mat work as everyone was getting ready to get started. Then crated her with a scatter and she was great. 10-15 minutes before her turn I walked her and then worked on focus after she acclimated. Then we went back to the tent for a snuffle for 5 minutes. Then I worked on pattern games. When it was our turn I had her do another pattern game and her routine which is two spins and two nose touches. I can tell how she is feeling when she does this. It is her absolute favorite trick. Then a line up. She ran great! Happy, fast, extended. Each time we ran she got better. Did not see her enthusiasm wane at the end of the 5 hours. It got better each time. No demotivation either with repetition.
Snuffle mat work at the seminar. The seminar was by Brittany Imhoff who won 12″ AKC nationals and who competes at the world team. The focus was soft dogs, confidence building and team building. Mango loved using her snuffle mat before her turn. On her last turn she was snuffling away and I didn’t get to do her full pre competition routine with her. I lost track of time. We did a few pattern games and her consent behavior and she did great. Happy smiling run and speedy with great distance. The instructor said she was an “amazing dog with a great future ahead of her”. During her last turn there was livestock at the fence by where she was running, a group of people at the fence looking at the livestock, planes overhead and three kids in a golf cart driving up and down the road. She paid no attention and we worked as a team. It was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t be more proud of my girl. Our last seminar at this site was a mess. I was a bit leery to try to go here again but, the topic was so spot on for her.
Posted mat work from the seminar today. She was not as relaxed as home. There were ten working dogs, airplane noise, and set up going on. She eventually settled and relaxed and that’s when someone came up and tried to talk to her. I told them that she could see them later and we were working on calmness. She said “you shouldn’t be calming her, you should be working her up for the seminar”. SMH. It helped significantly for me too.
This the relaxation protocol day one. I will post the snuffle mat video this weekend after Mango and I attend a half day seminar on connection. How many days of the protocol do you want. All 15? Or are there any specific days you want? Also, I take her on sniff walks a few times a week did you want video of that? Thanks so much:)
Mango and I are doing 1-2 sniff walks a week. We also go with my friend and her pup and we will go to more novel environments like a horse area, park, or agility facilities. I get to classes, seminars and trial sites early to allow her all the time she wants to sniff. On morning walks with my corgi she is allowed to sniff all she wants. My other dog is not as excited about sniffing so when we are waiting for her to finish we practice our stretching routine and do some basic tricks. When Mango re-engages I will do a stretch or trick with her and off we go. Also, I give both my dogs cookie searches in the house (where I hide cookies and let them find them) and some scent work with containers and hides. I have noticed that I get her attention sooner and with less disconnect if I allow her to sniff. It has made an improvement in her attention to me and she gets excited when she sees her long leash, 8ft, because that means a sniff walk. Mango loves to sniff. It has took me a while to embrace it because I thought it would lead to sniffing in the ring. It did not. It lead to more focus. Mango has been teaching me so much.
Mango does well in busy situations. She loves noise, activity. Our neighborhood has been under constant construction and she loves the front loaders, tractors, nail guns and construction workers. She gets distracted and can get slower and concerned in the ring at fun runs and does not like to have a harness on. We worked through her leash thing. Now she comes to me and pushes her head forward to be leashed. She bounces back and recovers quickly if she becomes startled, which happens infrequently. She has been lots of places and to lots of dog shows as well. Thanks for the help on the harness game. Duration is what I am wanting. I really appreciate it.
I have been counter conditioning Mango to her harness. She hates anything that goes over her head. I want her to put on her harness to help us in the future for agility. Here is my process.
1. throw kibble
2. say harness
3. wait for dog to put her head in harness
4. I have a small dish in between my knees. Say “dish” and feed her chicken.
5. say harness again
6. Throw reset cookieWe have been working on this for a while. Started with her eating treats out of and around harness. Have slowly progressed to adding the leash on her harness like we are at a show.
Sorry about the video. I have attempted to fix the orientation. I don’t have the skill set to fix it. Maybe you can watch it on your side lol. Hoping it doesn’t give you a neck ache. Thanks for your help.
Mango loves this game. Played once prior to taking the video and she immediately laid down and calmed down. She is so relaxed and both times took a nap after the exercise.
We are not officially trialing yet. She has done seminars, fun runs, and an intro trial. We did the one day UKI one day trial, as more of a formal fun run. We were allowed to bring in toys and the ring environment was very laid back. We were even allowed to let Mango acclimate in the ring. I have been hesitant to officially start her before she is “all in”. Since the spay my trainer and I have noticed more motivation and drive than before. She was having 3-4 heat cycles per year, leaving her more off than on. Thanks so much. Hoping Mango will be a “Marvel” as well:)
So, took me a few tries to add video:). One correction is that I’ve been doing dog agility over 10 years. Wouldn’t let me edit. First video is of Mango doing her thing at a fun run. I was happy with her performance. A little slow and environmentally aware compared to home. This is where she attends training classes. Second video is of her worst USDAA intro run from over a year ago. She gets distracted and is unable to do the obstacles, like the weaves. She weaves beautifully, just too much stimulus for her to concentrate. Thanks so much. Really looking forward to this class.
