Agility training

[Beanie]

Both Payton and Georgie now are going to get more regular training since my own training schedule is empty as of this Saturday haha. Tonight I did Salo set point exercises with both. I think we can safely say value is transferred to jumps for Payton. He has done some before but tonight I actually got out the visible target (blue Kong flyer) and it seems to have definitely clicked for him that this thing in front of him is aaaawwwsoooooome. I had other jumps set up for Auggie, who now only jumps 8" thankfully, so he went buzzing around the yard taking all the other jumps going LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!! *facepalm*

Georgie has to work on her stay LOL. As soon as she realized what I wanted from her, she couldn't sit still. We only got a few jumps before I stopped fighting with the stay and went inside. Need to beef up her stay more away from the jumps and then try to apply it again.

time to re-watch both Foundation Jumping and Success with One Jump, I think.

[BostonBanker]

Super cute! Is he a BC mix?

Yes. Mother was a BC working on an Amish farm, who got pregnant with we don't know what. I suspect a rogue spider monkey.

[Finkie_Mom]

YAY! So I'm going to bite the bullet and enter us in a show and go on May 20 (standard course). I know it may not seem like a big deal, but I get REALLY nervous with dog stuff, and I need a way to break in to it, if that makes sense. Our instructor sent us the info, so I guess that means she thinks we're ready

[crysania]

Show 'n' Goes are so much fun and an awesome place to get started. Usually you get a couple minutes on the course and you can do whatever you want to, use treats and toys. It's like training in a new spot. We've been to a few and plan on going to one this coming weekend.

No need to get nervous! It'll be SO MUCH fun!

[Finkie_Mom]

Originally Posted by crysania

Show 'n' Goes are so much fun and an awesome place to get started. Usually you get a couple minutes on the course and you can do whatever you want to, use treats and toys. It's like training in a new spot. We've been to a few and plan on going to one this coming weekend.

No need to get nervous! It'll be SO MUCH fun!

Haha yeah, I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I can't help it

I did a show and go for Rally last summer, and it was SO HELPFUL. The trainers at the place it was held at were also on hand to give pointers, which was awesome.

I'm really looking forward to it. Hoping my husband can come and get some video

[crysania]

I tend to be a nervous nelly myself and was terribly nervous at my first show 'n' go. But then I realized no one was paying attention, no one cared, and everyone was having an awesome time. So I've relaxed some, even at the few trials I've gone to.

I hope you get some good video! I'm hoping to get someone to videotape us too but we'll see if I can talk my partner into coming. He's not that into the agility thing. lol

[adojrts]

Fun matches or show n go's are great places to test the waters, get your dog on strange equipment and figure out what your strengths and weakness are. And a very valuable tool to reinforce behaviours in the ring, which you can't do at a real trial. So welcome the mistakes or the bobbles, they are to be expected with novice dogs and/or handlers.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

It helps having someone who's gone through this and came out alive then. LOL I know now that he has the potential for being a good dog, I'm struggling with if we'll ever get there.

I think you will get there, it's just rough starting out. I really wish Ziggy was still in the early phases with what I know now, I think things could have gone a lot smoother with him.

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

I would like a running Aframe for his structure but I am not opposed to a stop, maybe a 4 on the floor? Anything to let me catch a second with him may help. LOL

With a very fast, intense dog I think some form of stopped contacts is usually best. Unless you are super confident in your handling ability with running and interested in the repetitious training a reliable RC takes. I have recently gone to stopping Ziggy on the contacts from a...not so great RC (read: untrained, hope for the best, try to use my body cues to slow him enough to hit the contact) and it sure is making it easier.

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

I'll try, sometimes I find his brain doesn't even work when it's full speed though. I mean he's coming along with his weaves but if I let him get too fast and send him he'll blow past them and not look back til he's hit the wall. Also today I tried some one and two jump exercises and one jump he did well, two if I held his paw, but if I set him up and let him rip he'd do one and circle the other in confusion, I guess that tells me he needs more intel but it's frustrating for me.

That is actually a common issue with weaves and fast, frantic dogs. Weaves require slowing down, collecting and...well, some degree of thought. I think one of the most common reasons dogs miss entries is that they don't collect and end up a pole or two or more beyond were they should be by time it occurs to them. Watching the runs at BSCA, this really seemed to be the case in many of the missed entries there for sure. I like ST's use of the channel weaves, although I've not used that method yet myself. She makes the weaves super, super easy so the dog doesn't have to think much, just run thru and includes them in sequences very early on like that. Gradually closing the channel, so the dog gradually learns to really weave but is always working at speed. She actually says she prefers her dogs not think too much while running LOL

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

We have a puppy class like that but it's not offered for adults. Unfortunately most of our adult classes on lower level are geared towards getting pet dogs up and running, then we back peddle and re-foundation with our upper level classes. It's backwards and I don't like it but it's how the boss wants it. :/

I know exactly what you mean, as that is more common than not with the average beginner agility class IME. That sort of approach works ok for moderate drive dogs who can work at their owners pace then speed up as their owner does. It doesn't do much for lower drive dogs and is definitely not ideal for high drive ones.

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Sounds like you really have it together and Savvy will benefit from this!

I hope so! There are always challenges with any dog but I can definitely see how this early work is so beneficial.

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Thank you so much for taking the time to walk me through some of this, it really does help. It's hard, I know, when no one on here has seen him in action really but I'm so tired of asking people for help and them just sighing or cringing or getting those bewildered eyes that I'm really gun shy about even attempting the big bucks to go to a seminar or privates with any of the big names and this kind of help really does make me feel like we're not just a waste of time.

You wouldn't think agility people would be so weird about crazy dogs but that is an attitude a lot of people face unfortunately. We had an instructor tell us about Ziggy "yeah...umm...I have no idea how to work with a dog like that and prefer not to have them in my classes. I really can't help you." I guess at least she was being honest but...come on! I know someone else who is facing the same stuff right now with her intense, high drive dog. She's been kicked out of classes, told her dog is too crazy for agility and a classmate even said they'd put the dog down if it were their's (I guess because she is a spin and biter - herding breed dog of course LOL). That just makes me sad for many reasons and I'm sorry to hear you've run into this attitude as well. I just have a hard time understanding how agility people can look at a high drive, intense, willing dog and be so discouraging to their owner. I think sometimes maybe it is that people don't want to admit that they really are unsure what to suggest.

Have you read Susan Garret's Shaping Success? If not, it's worth a read It's part a training book on foundation work and part story about her issues training her dog Buzz. She was told by multiple big name people that Buzz was "not talented enough" and "too crazy" to be any good at agility and encouraged to rehome him and get a "better dog". Regardless of your personal feelings about SG, the book is well worth a read. If for no other reason than as an inspiration for people working with easily over-stimulated, crazy dogs

Hope to hear Backup agility updates regularly!

[Laurelin]

My real saving grace is that Mia is so small. I'm not really sure what I'll do with a dog her speed that is the size of a normal dog lol. I still can't keep up with her though.

I'm LOVING my new trainer. She is just so good at adjusting to different levels of dogs. All the dogs in our class do have some drive which is nice compared to some past classes I've been in. Finally getting to real obstacles, which is awesome. Foundations was definitely worth it but I can't wait to see what these dogs can do once we start stringing obstacles together.

Mia has been dubbed 'the little pistol'. I'll have to try to get some videos of us working on jumps soonish.

Almost makes me want to get Summer back in class but I know it wouldn't work for her back problems. *sigh* Hopefully they'll start a new foundations class soon I can get Beau set up in.

[Aleron]

Whim's first Excellent run at BSCA. It was a very nice run but not quite a Q (she missed a weave pole...I fell LOL).

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