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This is my last post since I realize the class is over and during the last Q&A, you said that two of us could have one more reply.
Avery’s breeder became a good friend of mine. She died of covid in January 2022. I still miss her greatly.
I mentioned the genetics of the highly sensitive trait in my previous post simply because that is a much more likely explanation for Avery’s challenges in the agility ring than pain. The highly sensitive trait is not a disease or a disorder; it is a personality trait, like introversion. That means that certain situations may be harder for highly sensitive individuals to navigate, just like large cocktail parties are not a good fit for many introverts, partially depending on how introverted they are. Avery is the easiest Sheltie to live with that we’ve ever had and has no issues outside of the ring. But agility, my preferred sport, may not be the best fit for her. Some of Avery’s siblings and half-siblings have finished MACHs.
While the highly sensitive trait was identified in humans in the 1990s, the dog world is just beginning to catch up. The tool for the highly sensitive trait in dogs was validated in 2017, the year Avery was born (see https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177616). While I am finding more class offerings for highly sensitive dogs, it takes a lot of trial and error to sort through the good and not-so-good.
**If you ever hear of any classes specifically focused on highly sensitive dogs in the agility context, feel free to let me know!**
Thank you for your kind offer to continue to work with us. I will bear that in mind.
I realize that you have had a very challenging 2023 so far. I sincerely hope life gets easier for you soon.
Best,
Susan & AveryHi Bobbie,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply as we wrap up the class.
I understand your concerns about pain being a possible issue. Avery has seen multiple different sports med pro’s over her lifetime, and none have identified any pain issues for her. Her last exam was in October 2022 by Dr. Chris Zink (boarded in sports medicine), who noted that Avery is put together very well physically and is built to sustain a long career from a physical perspective. Her lab work has been consistently negative for tick-borne illnesses. I will, of course, remain conscious of the possibility of pain, but I will not pursue diagnostics unless a vet recommends it.
Of note, the highly sensitive trait has a genetic basis. Avery’s dam had a total of three litters, each sired by a different male; some offspring from at least two of those litters have some degree of performance issues, from trotting/not running in extension to periodically shutting down. I will relate two examples that come to mind. Last year one of Avery’s half-sisters shut down at a trial at the training facility where she takes weekly classes; her handler assumed it was because of the male judge and it didn’t sound like this was an atypical occurrence for this dog. One of Avery’s nieces is now in the agility class before ours, and her handler’s goal is to “build confidence.” So there is a notable theme of performance challenges within Avery’s part of the line.
Unfortunately, “practice” in the trial environment is not something that works readily for Avery. I took her to a CPE trial on Saturday for two runs. The first run of the trial was Jumpers. Because of the poles in the building and the placement of the broad jump (I did not want to take it in the wrong direction), my options for designing my own course of under seven obstacles was seriously limited. I picked an easy sequence of five obstacles that ended in the middle of the actual course. Avery reacted exactly as she had in the past – she never really built much speed, she was confused by why we stopped running in the middle of the course layout, and she thought it was really weird that we had to go half the distance of the ring to get to the exit gate. That type of “practice” sequence feels unpredictable to her in my opinion, and I wonder if that creates some negative fallout for her.
An additional issue for her is the lack of reinforcement options for these “practice” runs in trials. Avery is not toy motivated, and when she feels any stress/pressure, she is not reinforced by doing agility. We are currently enrolled in a remote reinforcement class to see if that might help. She is absolutely wonderful outside the ring in a trial environment, I could not ask for anything more from her. But without a way to actually reinforce her in the ring at trials, it’s very hard to consistently demonstrate to her that the trial ring is a fun place where good things happen.
Following Saturday’s Jumpers run, I scratched her from her second run and then withdrew all of our trial entries because I don’t yet have any answers to help her in the ring itself. Even with food on me in class, she can still shut down. From my perspective, there is way more work that needs to be done before “practicing” in the trial environment. So I obviously have a lot to think about.
Thanks,
SusanHey there,
FWIW, here’s video from Avery’s class. (I slanted the camera toward the teeter, which meant 1/3 of the course was out of the frame.) There were a lot of things that were not working for her: the temp was near 90 degrees; long walk to the middle of the ring (past obstacles) to get to the start line; tunnel as first obstacle (automatic disconnect); and I made an error on the push to the 2nd obstacle.
But instead of focusing on the “triggers,” I opted to stay in the moment and try to get her to bounce back. Around the 6 second mark (note: lots of video were edited out because 1/3 of the course was out of the frame), she started to sniff and I opt to go toward her and “tickle” (play) with her as we ran back to reset.
She didn’t sniff at all in run #2, but she did have a problem with the teeter. Tracy thought that Avery spotted a piece of straw on her way to the teeter and that took away all momentum. She got it on the second attempt.Overall, I just tried to keep her in the game and to reinforce effort, instead of trying to “fix” what was triggering her. At least for this class, my job felt a lot easier. Tracy and I talked after class for a bit. I said that I feel like I need to focus more on helping her to recover more quickly. Tracy and I have done a LOT of work teaching Avery how not to quit after 1 error and to do more than 1 rep. So talking about recovery time fits into the work we’ve done in the past.
Two concepts I am currently grappling with:
1. In humans, there is growing chatter in mental health circles about how avoidance actually increases anxiety in the long term. When there’s a choice to avoid a stressor, the brain is reinforced (“I kept us safe by avoiding that stressor”). The next time the stressor occurs, the brain will tend to want to avoid it and that can lead to an anxiety cycle (“I must avoid that stressor to stay safe”). For humans, the recommendation is to face up to stressors (in a reasonable fashion, of course!) to teach the brain that it’s still safe, and then observe how anxiety levels decrease. I’m not sure yet if/how to apply this concept to Avery. I am very aware of the importance not to flood her and I don’t want to push her too hard. At the same time, I don’t want her to get stuck in an unnecessary anxiety cycle.
2. I was listening to a recent discussion on the fight/flight/fawn/freeze cycle in sensitive dogs. The suggestion was to help sensitive dogs in freeze feel safe first and then guide them into movement. It’s an interesting thought (hard to implement, at least for me!). I am not convinced that my choice to “tickle” Avery was the best option, but play may indicate that the environment is safe. I’ll keep thinking about this.
Thanks,
SusanHey there,
follow up to your last post
You wrote (about trial run #1): “She ran past the judge twice, while he was calling out numbers and raising his hand!! AT A TRIAL!!! WOWZA!!!” As an FYI, while she may encounter problems if a judge is moving, she’s had little problem historically with working near a judge in a trial calling out numbers (or not). So this represents her baseline.
You wrote (about trial video): “I think in general, you are asking too much of her in the trial environment. I think, for now, she needs to do fewer obstacles in a run.” I don’t recall us discussing a “pitch count” (obstacle limit) before, just keeping things “easy peasy.” I question if she should be trialing at all if there’s a limit of fewer than 10 obstacles, since that indicates to me that there is more work that should be done/perfected before attempting trials.
Class video:
Run #1: Tracy set up a Std course to start with a jump and then the teeter. My gut told me that Avery might have trouble with the teeter as the 2nd obstacle, so I opted to start at jump #3 and end with the teeter.Run #2: We began with the start jump to teeter sequence, and Avery spun on the teeter. I opted to continue on with the course so as not to stress her about the teeter. After we finished the run, I opted to re-try the start jump to teeter sequence and she did OK. Tracy suggested that I always cue, “teeter…Avery” to keep connection with her while she is on the teeter.
This class highlighted to me how Avery can struggle with doing “hard” obstacles at the start of a course and that sets a negative tone for the rest of the run. Do you have any suggestions for how to work through this struggle? Obviously there’s no way to consistently avoid the teeter, DW, or weaves as the second obstacle on the course.
Finally, I’m making a mental shift away from constantly looking for triggers and standardizing all of our routines to the nth degree. Avery scores in the 80% range for the highly sensitive trait, so she is strongly wired to notice any subtle change in the environment/routine and to experience “big feelings”/overarousal/overwhelm. Trying to identify every single trigger and maintain inviolable routines is exhausting and frankly, unproductive, since so much is outside of human control. Given Avery’s wiring, I think a better long-term solution is to identify strategies to help her maintain focus on her job and to bounce back from the perturbations she experiences. What are your thoughts? (As a side note, some of my professional experience involved standardizing patient care processes at a major pediatric teaching hospital. I can easily establish regular routines for Avery, but I recognize the limits.)
Thanks,
Susan
Hi Bobbie,
Alert: I don’t think you’ve had time to review our video from class (see above).
I’m feeling really discouraged and I don’t know if I should just retire Avery from trialing. The unexpected kept happening through the weekend, stuff outside of my control. I realize that Avery values predictability, but obviously there’s only so much I can do.
Here’s the run down:
Saturday run #1: FullHouse. This is a design-it-yourself game where you need to complete at least one 5-point obstacle (often a contact, spread jump, or jump combo), two 3-point obstacles (tunnels), and three 1-point jumps *plus* get the minimum points needed to Q at your competition level. The class ran faster than I expected…and I have been running UKI with Avery and they don’t want you in the ring until the dog in the ring is leashed. So I was late getting in…and Avery is supposed to scratch the door to go in and the leash runner was being nice to leave the door open and I was trying to shut it. My plan was to limit the # of obstacles performed to keep things easy peasy.
Saturday run #2: This was a “non-traditional Jackpot” which means no distance challenge, it’s a point grab. Pinwheels were point doublers in the opening. Of course, pinwheels are exactly what I am trying to avoid since Avery finds them demotivating. I tried to find ways to avoid doing 2 pinwheels, but the contortions I came up with seemed almost worse than a pinwheel, so I figured we’d just suck it up.
The rain started to pour during the walk thru, so I couldn’t do any of our warm up outside. I was on time to get in the ring, but once we got in the ring and I sat Avery, I noticed the previous team’s time was still on the clock. So I looked up at the table/judge and asked if I could go. They were like yeah, go. And then I pointed to the clock and I said there’s no go (so they knew why I was asking) and then I heard go. So that meant Avery was sitting there awhile and I had inadvertently disconnected from her…and her start wasn’t the best. After her run, I gave her a snuffle box in her crate – it was still pouring outside and taking her to the car would not have been pleasant for her.
By the time we finished Jackpot, Avery was ready to be re-dosed with lorazepam for the car ride home. I worked ring crew during the hour wait time. We arrived at the trial site around 7am and left around 12:30pm. Once we got home, Avery was pestering both my husband and me to play with her, so she’s not scarred for life.
Sunday run #1: Jumpers. The leash runner stepped over the ring gate to get into the ring while I was trying to set up Avery (that’s out of the frame, so you won’t see it). She ran OK, but not as well as yesterday.
Sunday run #2: Std. She warmed up so beautifully outside of the ring! We were playing a fun game as we were waiting and she was barking. I got her in the ring and she was barking…and then she didn’t want to release and was slow. The Std course had nice flow and was actually pretty easy. I expected her not to like the jump to the teeter (I don’t think she has figured out why jumps are abutting the poles in the building). But I really thought she could do it.
I worked a class after I re-dosed her lorazepam for the ride home. We arrived around 7:30am and left around 1pm. Like yesterday, she has been pestering my husband and me to play with her.
I am feeling really discouraged. I have been working on her issues since Dec 2021. Each spring she seems to come out nicely after her agility vacation, and then her performances seem to start degrading. I’ve been working really hard, but I can’t seem to get on top of all of her issues in a consistent way. It’s no fun for her to go so slowly and it’s no fun for me to see her go thru that. Advice on next steps will be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Susan
ETA: After thinking about things, I think we need to do some major tweaking of Avery’s return-to-trial plan. I have some ideas already, but I want to give you some time to come up with your own ideas. Thanks for letting me vent. It’s hard for me to see her struggle when I know her potential.
Hi there,
Link to class video below. Avery was definitely not as sparkly in class today. I suspect that she got uncomfortable crating in the car (it was very windy, but the sun came out and warmed up the car, probably too much for her) and that affected her performance. To my eye, it looks like she struggled when she was back in areas where errors had occurred (ie, she began to sniff). Not sure what I should do about that…in some cases there wasn’t another obstacle for me to go after an error to get flow. Any suggestions?
As a general FYI, she’s not a big fan of me cuing her to wrap a jump and then a blind back – that’s a lot of collection for her. (This is the handling move I used for the jump before the teeter.) So I am not all that surprised that I saw her check up on her speed and trot to the teeter.
I was very pleased that I was able to get her moving again after sniffing. While I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t have a better outing, I felt we showed a good deal of resilience. I’m ready to make the most out of this learning experience, so I’m open to any and all of your feedback!
Thanks!
Susan
Hi Bobbie,
Alert! I hope that it is not confusing that I am adding the link to the video from our Speedstakes run and highlights from today’s seminar before you check our video from class. I didn’t submit any video last week so I am trying to catch up. Please let me know if this is a problem or if you would prefer that I handle this in a different way.
Speedstakes: My process goal was to focus on resilience for both of us and that was a great choice. There was rain in the forecast (there’s no indoor crating space at the riding arena), so that created some stress for me. Then I saw the course map: two 180 degree turns to start the course plus a pinwheel – exactly what I was hoping to avoid! But I picked two bail out points on the course if she was struggling. After the first tunnel we could just exit if the 180s stressed her, and if the pinwheel demotivated her, I could take that tunnel and then the final jump.
To the video: I couldn’t get the whole course into the frame, so the start and end jumps are cut off from view. Her start line routine wasn’t as crisp as usual and her sits were a bit slow. I assume this is because we were both feeling some pressure. But she did a nice release from the start line and ran the whole time, yay! Tracy Riley was thrilled. Several people commented on how nice a run it was!
A downpour started after our run, so space to do pattern games was limited. I managed to squeeze in some 1-2-3-treat, treat toss with hand touch, and walking in a circle games.
Seminar: The instructor had us working 10-obstacle courses that had lots of room to run. I couldn’t get the whole course into the frame because it was so spread out. Avery’s wonderful threadle from last year has disappeared, so I need to retrain that. When we encountered errors, we just did 3 reps to try to fix it and then moved on. We both definitely felt some pressure at the start line with people and the posts, but I think it was a super good experience for both of us to work thru those moments. She did really nice work the first two runs and came out strong for run #3, but another threadle seemed to fry her brain a bit. The instructor asked me what I thought was going on, and I said I felt she was fatiguing. So we did a short 4-obstacle sequence to finish our and then ran (literally!) to the exit.
We received lots of nice compliments! It was great to see her be able to run full out.
Looking forward to your feedback!
SusanHi Bobbie!
Link to video from today’s class appears at the end of this post. I am really pleased with our outing!
Run #1: I was really pleased with her work and speed from start to finish. Unfortunately, Tracy Riley’s back was blocking our work for the camera, so I edited out those sections. But I am really, really thrilled with how she did (and we had fun!).
Run #2: Super interesting. While run #1 was a gem, run #2 identified stuff to work on…so a good balance! Two of the students were missing from class today, so we walked a different course for run #2. Avery ran second in the run order instead of last. So there were some differences from what she usually experiences in class. When I did the ready button with her before run #2, her sit in heel position was sloppy and not as crisp as usual. She didn’t sit as quickly on the start line either (you won’t see it on the video b/c we are just out of the frame). And apparently Avery was listening in our 1-to-1 yesterday – you will see that she had issues sniffing on the course around the far end of the DW (the DW will block most of your view of it; time stamps are around 1:42 and then again at 1:56). There was stuff on the surface there (looked like straw). But Avery bounced back nicely (once we got away from that area).
So for run #2 I’m not sure if her arousal was out of balance or if she was feeling a bit of stress. I will say that about every 3 months, Avery will have a class where she spends time sniffing the running surface.
As far as the sniffing…Tracy Riley suggested having a verbal cue (eg, “ready”) to let the dog know it’s time to work. Right now I am approaching this from a slightly different perspective – Avery has a decent response to a positive interruptor (thanks, Pat Miller!), which is a kissy sound. However, she was not responding to that cue in class.
I actually worked with some stuff on the floor of our training room last night, and Avery was rock solid, totally ignoring those items. So if we could put our heads together around how to do set ups to work on sniffing, I’d appreciate it. I suspect that sniffing at class is too hard for Avery to just break out of at this stage, and I need to systematically work on her skills (and mine, too!).
The good news: I feel that both of us showed a lot of progress as well as resilience. I didn’t experience panic about the sniffing; Tracy and I talked about options, and I said that I would bring it up as a discussion point with you so I can work on it. I also felt like I did a good job of staying connected in run #1 and was naturally not quite as successful with that in run #2 b/c Avery was sniffing. But as a team, we stayed positive and worked thru the challenges.
I’m open to any and all of your feedback!
FYI: Since I didn’t post a video last week (class was canceled), I plan to post a video later this week of our run at the trial/some work at Saturday’s seminar.
Thanks!!!!
Susan & AveryHi Bobbie!
The link to the video of our run thru’s appears below.
I’m not sure why walk thru’s were limited to TWO minutes, but they were. I learned that a 2-minute walk thru is not enough for me, especially when there is no course map to study.
So run #1 was basically a test of resilience. I think I disconnected a bit before the first post turn and then Avery opted to sniff a fuzzy on the ground and came off her line. I was lost on where to go after the AF and she knocked a bar while she took an off course jump. But she kept working and I tried to provide verbal support as well as cookie reinforcement. She did come off her line to the AF a bit on our 2nd pass during run #1, so I stepped in to provide some extra physical support.
I managed to get another 2-min walk thru before our 2nd run, so I felt more comfortable with the course. I was thrilled with how Avery bounced back in run #2 – no issues with the first post turn or the AF! I tried to focus on reinforcing effort, especially where we had errors in run #1, just because I thought that would help boost her confidence.
So even though I pretty much botched run #1, I think in the long run it was a good experience for both of us. Avery and I got to practice working through errors while I had food on me. I won’t run her again when I’ve had that short of a walk thru…I will either scratch or make up my own course.
BTW, feel free to make comments at any time on my own behaviors that I can change to help Avery! I started working on my mental game last year and I can see improvements in how I handled run #1. I still feel the pressure to hurry in the ring, so that’s something I still need to work on. And I see I need to start adding more pressure to our practice sessions to mimic what happens in the ring at a trial. But I am open to your feedback too!
Final notes: This week’s class is cancelled so we won’t be able to practice there. I put Avery on our teeter at home yesterday…the ground has really softened and the teeter had a big rebound. Avery seemed to handle it well (I still periodically play the rebound game from your teeter class), so fingers crossed. And we moved the teeter to a different spot in our yard. 🙂
Thanks,
SusanHi Bobbie!
So excited to share this video with you! Today’s class was a jumpers with weaves course. Avery did a really nice job and seemed to have a good time. One of our classmates said, “I’ve never seen her run so fast!”
We haven’t run a full course together since mid-November. And then our instructor (Tracy Riley) had us run two different courses during the class (plus she added on a short sequence at the end since we still had some class time). I still have a bit of split focus as I gain fluency in all of the skills we have been working on (they are not quite second nature to me yet). As a result, I opted to prioritize connection over doing all of the obstacles in the right order, since that’s what is most important to Avery. And yes, I did get lost on course, but I just tossed her Lily toy with food in it so she wouldn’t think she had made an error. (FYI: I rarely get lost on course at a trial. This is really about me practicing our new skills until they become rote to me.)
I was very impressed with how Avery was able to easily move past obstacles on our way to the start line – no split focus there. (You may not be able to see that since we often set up out of the frame of my camera.) She easily restarted after I tossed her Lily toy to reinforce her.
I’m also working on my mental game a bit. If I am concerned that Avery may shut down, I tend to panic…and I suspect that Avery picks up on that and then we end up feeding off each other in a negative way. Now I try to relax, observe, and turn to my tools…like I did today. I think that helps our connection a lot.
I’m open to your feedback!
Thanks for everything!
Susan & AveryHi Bobbie,
Thanks for the feedback! And I just want to say, I recognize that you have had a pretty rough 2023 so far. I hope things get better for you here on out.
TBH, I am not really sure “what” I should be working on. My focus since last Sep has been on the behavior pieces; our online start line routine class also had a strong emphasis on behavior (developing + CER for getting into the ring and setting up at the start line). Because Avery has the highly sensitive trait, she is very likely to notice any small changes in the environment and may react, as she did with our instructor in the video clip. I’m not sure that I can ever really train/proof for all of those possibilities. So I don’t know if I should continue focusing on the “big picture” behavior side or start to focus on specific agility skills. If I were going to pick a specific agility area to work on, it would be the teeter or the DW. Do you have any guidance to offer? I don’t want to dither, b/c then nothing will happen. 🙂
I didn’t attend class this week. I could submit video of us working in the yard for this week…or make a different plan. What would you prefer?
Thanks!
SusanHi Bobbie!
Thanks for the great feedback!
Re: our video for this week: Per your request, I’ve included two clips of Avery’s teeter performances from last year (before we started working with you) with her turn around on the board behavior. The teeter is a thermometer for how she is feeling about the course. If she is happy/feeling good, she takes the teeter with confidence. If she is worried or if she feels a disconnect from me, she will typically check up and slow before the teeter (she rarely refuses it, but it has happened), she’ll get on the teeter, and she may turn around (exit safely off the teeter by going back the way she came) unless I call her name.
Clip #1 – We had a disconnect after the AF (Avery was focused on the judge…a # of dogs got distracted by the judge after the AF). I see that carry over a bit into the rest of the run, but if you see something different, let me know! Teeter with turn around occurs about the 34 second mark.
Clip #2 – Not the greatest video quality, but it’s the only other video I have of this turn around on the teeter behavior. (I didn’t get it on video the other times it happened.) This was our Sheltie Club’s all-Sheltie agility specialty. It was a small, 2-day trial; I entered her in Mas Std/JWW both days. She did well on the first run (Std), but her performances deteriorated after that. A lot of that deterioration had to do with the start line (very close to the gate with people walking by) and/or the 20-ft dark blue tunnel as the 2nd obstacle (that created a huge disconnect for her). Each challenging experience seemed to carry over to the next run. This clip is from the last run of the trial, teeter performance occurs around the 55 second mark.
Sooo my intention was to get video of teeter performances at Wednesday’s class. Because the weather was in the low 60s, Tracy (Riley) moved class out of the arena and to the outside ring. Yay! Avery usually does well in that ring. Yay! But the teeter was along the edge of the ring where students were hanging over the fence to watch…and their heads blocked the view of the teeter. Darn! So no teeter video to share. But she did two confident teeters. Instead, I am sharing some clips from other sequences. I was able to jog (yay!) so that meant we could do more obstacles in a sequence. I used my Treat & Train, since it’s a bigger target for her to see than the bowls.
Clips #3 & #4 – sequence with weaves (from our first “run”). She popped out of the weaves on the first try; Tracy and I think it was because Avery felt Tracy’s pressure. In clip #4 she gets her weaves and is showing she feels confident.
Clips #5 & #6 – sequence with DW (from our second “run”). First attempt was thoughtful, second was more confident. Her DW behavior is a 4on (like her teeter); I found that having three different contact behaviors caused her to be more thoughtful.
The best news: After we were done with her first “run,” Avery gave me the biggest smile! And that’s what I want to figure out how to replicate b/c that meant the world to me.
BTW, feel free to make suggestions to “fix” my behaviors at any point in the class. I “fixed” a lot of my behaviors around the table to meet my OCD dog’s needs (which included teaching myself to smile and breathe during her table performance to take off pressure). I’m willing to change for Avery.
Finally, I don’t expect us to be in class next week (need to go up to see my dad). I plan to do more work on Avery’s ready button and attention walking in new environments, since she’ll be traveling with me. Feel free to make any other suggestions of stuff we can do without agility equipment.
Thanks a bunch!
SusanHi Bobbie,
Thanks for the feedback! I’d like to a little rearranging to your suggestions, though, so that these elements dovetail with the work we’ve been doing on her pre-run/startline routines. A successful Ready button response is a requirement to continue with the pre-run/startline routine to go into the ring, and that’s been working well for us. I don’t feel comfortable taking her into the ring and then asking for a Ready button b/c if she is not ready, then I need to experiment with getting her ready and there’s potential for that stressing both of us. Right now I am using the Snuffle box after leaving the ring as a contextual cue (along with the verbal “all done” cue) that work is finished.
What I thought you suggested at the Training Night Chat is to start with the treat toss pattern game then move to Ready Button and the rest of the rehearsed behavior sequence to get into the ring. That small tweak seems to be working well as she is not offering the cheeky barking behavior and is able to respond quickly to the Ready Button. So for now I want to stick with the treat toss pattern game before the Ready Button and after we enter the ring b/c that seems to be working. I also prefer avoiding any disruption to the rehearsed pre-run/startline routines we have b/c I believe their predictive value reduces her anxiety and boosts her confidence because she is sure what is going to happen next. But if you have any concerns, let’s discuss them!
The video is from Friday’s seminar with my regular agility instructor, but at a different location from where we usually take class. Avery has been at this location before, but this is the first agility facility where we’ve used our new routines outside of our regular class. BTW, I re-tweaked a quad injury earlier in the week, so we were sticking with doing very short sequences since I can’t run. Also, in attendance was a BC (in a crate) that doesn’t like Shelties and a reactive Sheltie (in the ring during our warm up), so that limited the space I could use.
We got two “runs” during the seminar. You will see us do the treat toss pattern game and Ready Button, then proceed into the ring and set up. (The video clips focus on those elements, b/c that’s what I understood you want to see right now.) For “run” #1 we did 5 set ups for 5 short sequences. “Run” #2 included 6 set ups for 6 short sequences. The final clip is of a set up during “run” #2 where she struggled, which I’d love your feedback on.
I was really, really happy with Avery’s work! She was pushed out of her comfort zone by the new environment with obstacles closer together and many more reps than in class. (We’ve been doing 3 set ups/short sequences in class.) I made things easier for her where I could (“transport cookie” instead of attention walking, easy sequences). But she also showed a lot of resilience, bouncing back when things weren’t perfect. I will do more work on attention walking (both duration and level of distraction), but I am open to your feedback on other things to work on. I tried to follow Avery’s example of resilience – I viewed the baubles as information/feedback instead of something to worry about, which I think helped her a lot. So I am working on me too. 🙂
One question: What should I do if Avery enters the weave poles incorrectly? My instructor prefers to pull the dog out and re-start…but I also don’t like to indicate an error to that degree. I didn’t cue the poles properly in our regular Wednesday class b/c of my injury so I definitely need to have a plan.
Thanks!!!
Video compilation: Class vid + cheeky Avery
The agility video is from our 1/18 class. This was the first time that Avery had done any agility of note since mid-November (she was on her annual agility vacay). During her vacay, we were doing an online class focused on a start line routine (goals: develop a routine, build a + CER for going in the ring).
Because of the course layout and how I set up my phone, I didn’t get much great video, but there are 3 clips in this compilation. We were just doing short, easy sequences to build on our work that being in the ring is FUN! Avery really, REALLY wants to be connected to me, so we’re doing a lot of “attention walking” as we move toward and in the ring; she loves that type of connection plus it keeps her from focusing on potentially “scary” things in the environment.
The “cheeky Avery” video is from a training session in our backyard. I set up some ring gating and a jump to practice our start line routine. Avery was in the house and watched me do that (barking away, like she normally does when I am setting up equipment in the yard). She knew training was in her future and she was really amped up by the time I got her outside.
Just to be clear, she doesn’t carry on like this in the ring. We don’t do any training/work until she can give me her ready button, and I would completely abort a session (or a run in class/at a trial) if she couldn’t give a ready button within 3 attempts. Once she gave me the ready button, she worked fine (there may have been some limited barking, but she’s a Sheltie after all). 🙂
Ready button sequence: eye contact, I back up and invite her to jump to put her front feet on my thighs, then I cue a swing into heel position and sit. The qlty of the sit in heel position tells me a lot about her head space, and I will repeat the ready button sequence when the sit is way out of position just to assess her again.
Hope you enjoy your vacay! Sounds like the start of this year has been really stressful for you, so I hope you get to relax and feel pampered!
Thanks!
Susan & Avery
