Agility Finkie!

[Finkie_Mom]

Well, hopefully! I have been working with Kimma on agility since she was a little thing - we did a puppy obedience/agility foundations course when she was 6 months old and continued until she was 1 and was ready to do full height equipment. We left class for a while at this point because we were expected to do more off leash stuff outside and her recall was seriously lacking. With the help of some time off and Susan Garrett's Recallers program, we ended up with an awesome recall by the end of about 5 months (during which time we also did the 2x2 method for weaves). Got her back to another club, but while we were taking their required "Intro to Competition" course, we moved from TX back to PA.

Took another couple of months off after the move, and got in to a club here in October. She hadn't really seen any equipment for about 8 months by the time we had our first agility class here, and she ran like she never forgot any of it (except this time she was also off leash with no problem!).

She's my first dog and obviously my first agility dog, so it's been an interesting endeavor. I hope to keep a record of her progress through video and on my blog, but I figured that I would start a thread here to post things as we do them and as a way to get any critiques/criticism the more seasoned professionals on this board can give

Here's some from class last night.

Sequence with jumps:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oINF9I1Jrac

I had to shove treats in her face after the tunnel because the weaves were right there and she LOVES weaving LOL:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqTeTThSQmc

Part of a Jumpers course:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B30NWGP-ycs

I tend to "throw" my arm instead of indicating obstacles by moving my arm as if I'm "bowling" (if that makes sense), and I'm working on it LOL. Kimma is also pretty darn fast so I'm trying to get her used to being sent on to obstacles. Any comments are greatly appreciated

[MericoX]

You guys rock!
In the last video, the only thing I could suggest (because I have to do with Kiba) is you tell her to Jump just a second before she's to do it, and she's back to looking at you to see what is next. With Kiba I give her the next command right as she's finished doing the one she's on and it works for us.

[Finkie_Mom]

LOL see? This is why I post these things!

Yeah, you're totally right about my calling the obstacle too late. I notice that now. Another reason she comes to me after the third jump is because I told her, "Good" and she I guess thought that meant treat time LOL.

[BostonBanker]

She looks great! Very cool dog. I look forward to seeing more!

[adojrts]

Wow, major improvements, congrats

[Finkie_Mom]

Originally Posted by BostonBanker

She looks great! Very cool dog. I look forward to seeing more!

Awww thank you!!! She's definitely not a "typical" agility dog breed, but I think that we have a chance to do some good stuff (once I figure out what I'm doing LOL).

Originally Posted by adojrts

Wow, major improvements, congrats

Thank you so much! Aside from having fun, improving a little bit each time is definitely the goal!

[Finkie_Mom]

Had a disappointing class Wednesday night. I was a bit all over the place, and therefore Kimma was too LOL. She had a weird/random obsession with the table and kept going to it (I'm assuming there were treat crumbs on/around it), but at least she would come back to me after getting off course. And she also would run for one of my instructors, which is cool (in case I can't run her for some reason at least I know she might listen to others!). Here are a couple of videos:

I wish the beginning of this was caught, and I wish there weren't other people/equipment in the way LOL. She actually did nicely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94gbeBwueDM

This took us a few times to get (she kept going to that darn table!). I'm also trying to figure out how far I should lead out with her (she's fast so I FEEL like I need to lead out a lot, but she also needs direction so I can't lead out TOO much - maybe as I/we get better and gain more experience I can lead out more). I also wish the weaves weren't open!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc6_-8bMTx0

[MericoX]

Nice job! I love the background commentary in the first video. LOL.

[Finkie_Mom]

Originally Posted by MericoX

Nice job! I love the background commentary in the first video. LOL.

Hahahaha yeah gotta love random conversations!

Last week was pretty good. Kimma was a little slow, but we were going over lead out pivots and some other handling things, so I was also a bit slow LOL. She also misjudged the table and ended up not making the jump on to it and hit her chest/jaw on it. She got right back on and in to her down, so I treated her there, called her off and put her back on with treats a few times. She seemed fine and had no hesitations about going back on the table, but I felt SOOOOO bad

Here are a couple of videos. This is just a jump sequence with the lead out pivot. She's not too slow here, but still a bit more than usual.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcNgc7YUy-Q

And another:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=amGGk55zAPo

Now we have a two week break from classes (well, we technically only have one week, but I will be away at a dog show the following week), and we will focus more on her recall and just playing more

[Finkie_Mom]

Ugh, today was tiring for both of us! I'm stressed about random life things, and Kimma was just plain tired by the time we got to go (I had her out watching another class prior to ours to work on getting her to chill while not working LOL).

So we have a few new issues.

First is taking the bait (goes for the tunnel rather than the dog walk), and then forgetting what in the world the chute means:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3LCWQbtLcQ

Next up is being slow in the weaves:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWL4OmRN9es

Missing an entry (which she hasn't done in like forever!):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtP0EBCym30

Aaaand breaking startline stays:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tp1sVFXEDI

Oh man, I feel like we're never going to get to trial at this rate LOL. I do think overall my handling is getting better/more consistent, but I know there are things I still need to work on.

Any comments are appreciated