Agility training

[BostonBanker]

One major thing that I'm learning from this experience is that EVERY dog has their own problems when it comes to agility.

Preach it! Heck, I need to hear it myself some days. I got Gusto thinking I would have an "easy" agility dog at last. Oh, hello new challenges.

This is a big weekend for us. We are leaving tomorrow for Gusto's first real trial. I was so panicked up to the point I sent the entry in, and then this week, I've really been thrilled that I signed him up.

I had a big epiphany a couple of weeks ago (did I already put this here? I can't remember.) and realized that his sniffing and disconnecting is stress related, even though he shows no outward signs of being stressed. I've gone back to how I trained Meg, and am careful that if he gets an answer "wrong" more than once, we go back to something easy and fun and rewardable. So much of the sniffing is gone!

I'm not expecting perfect. I have given my friends permission to slap me if I try to go back and fix anything in the ring. I'm hoping for great startlines, staying with me, and contacts. His weaves have been crazy good this week, with him accelerating going into them but still staying in. I'd love to see it this weekend, but I WILL NOT pull him back to fix them if he misses. Fast, positive, and big rewards. The rest will come in time.

Meg gets to run 2 classes as well. As per our agreement, once she got her ADCH, she never again has to run classes she doesn't like. So she's entered in jumpers and snooker, and if she doesn't want to play, she doesn't have to. I just got home from run-thrus with her, and she was tucking her butt and running like the wind! Gusto is insanely fun and impressive to run, but running Meg again is like putting on my favorite old sweatshirt. She's my perfect girl

[Shai]

Originally Posted by BostonBanker

Preach it! Heck, I need to hear it myself some days. I got Gusto thinking I would have an "easy" agility dog at last. Oh, hello new challenges.

This is a big weekend for us. We are leaving tomorrow for Gusto's first real trial. I was so panicked up to the point I sent the entry in, and then this week, I've really been thrilled that I signed him up.

I had a big epiphany a couple of weeks ago (did I already put this here? I can't remember.) and realized that his sniffing and disconnecting is stress related, even though he shows no outward signs of being stressed. I've gone back to how I trained Meg, and am careful that if he gets an answer "wrong" more than once, we go back to something easy and fun and rewardable. So much of the sniffing is gone!

I'm not expecting perfect. I have given my friends permission to slap me if I try to go back and fix anything in the ring. I'm hoping for great startlines, staying with me, and contacts. His weaves have been crazy good this week, with him accelerating going into them but still staying in. I'd love to see it this weekend, but I WILL NOT pull him back to fix them if he misses. Fast, positive, and big rewards. The rest will come in time.

Meg gets to run 2 classes as well. As per our agreement, once she got her ADCH, she never again has to run classes she doesn't like. So she's entered in jumpers and snooker, and if she doesn't want to play, she doesn't have to. I just got home from run-thrus with her, and she was tucking her butt and running like the wind! Gusto is insanely fun and impressive to run, but running Meg again is like putting on my favorite old sweatshirt. She's my perfect girl

This whole post just made me smile. Good luck this weekend.

[SaraB]

Originally Posted by Shai

This whole post just made me smile. Good luck this weekend.

This! Good luck!!!

[Laurelin]

I just got back from our fun run thing. I'm trying not to beat myself up about beating myself up.

Summer was perfect and great and fantastic. Mia was off. I don't even know what was going on with her but she was slow, not into it at all. Just ho hum, wouldn't act animated at all, even in warm up or just goofing off. I kept thinking she must feel sick or something. I'm still not so sure what happened. But I let it bum me out too much.

Nancy started working with her and got her going much better. I'm sitting here wondering why she wouldn't work with me. I still think we got some decent pictures but it was like pulling teeth. I think it was because I scolded her pretty bad this morning for squatting and peeing on the carpet in front of me. and of course that made me feel even more awful that she was just still upset or not trusting me because I yelled.

I kept finding myself watching the border collies and the belgian and wishing I had my next dog. I hate myself for thinking that when I do think that. I was driving in the car on the way home and saw them both sitting there and grinning ear to ear at me and I sighed. I really take the two of them for granted sometimes. I really need to stop doing that.

Sorry for the downer/not very agility related post.

[BostonBanker]

I kept finding myself watching the border collies and the belgian and wishing I had my next dog. I hate myself for thinking that when I do think that

I have been there so, so much. It feels awful to think "I wish I had that to play with instead" but we certainly do. And all the rationalization (Those dogs aren't perfect or easy either. Your dogs are fully capable of being amazing and frequently are.) doesn't help at the time. Don't beat yourself up over it at all. Among other things, the more you do, the more likely you will pull your dogs down even more. Meg's a great barometer for me of my mood. I can't fake "happy" enough to keep her working well in agility. If I'm really that bummed out by how we are doing or anything else, we don't work. Period. Hopefully Mia just felt off herself and will be back to normal next time!


Well, Gusto had his first real USDAA trial last weekend! I'm really bummed that only one round got taped. My friends left their video camera with me for the entire day (because I remembered to bring mine and charge it, but didn't remember to put the card back in it ), but the people I had tape for me failed. I got me putting the leash on at the end of one run, and me playing with him on the start line while I waited for jumps to get changed.

He was so, so good. I was beaming all day, and that was without any Qs. He was happy and confident outside the ring and tugging like a fiend. He was able to work on the warm-up jump without leaving me to go check out the other dogs/people/jump the arena fence to go chase dogs. He held every single start line without me having to babysit it at all. He hit every contact and held them until released. He missed a weave entry in gamblers, but then stayed in the poles perfectly the rest of the way, and hit his entry in standard. He had one minor sniff issue in the first class, but otherwise ran with me, listening. He let me put his leash back on at the end of each run (Mr. Keep Away). We got everything I wanted for his first trial, and I can't wait to continue on with him!

Meg got to run Snooker and Jumpers as well, and was on fire! Super fast and accurate, with a second place and Super Q in Snooker and a second and Q in jumpers that was less than a second behind the wonderful border collie who beat us.

[SaraB]

Originally Posted by BostonBanker

I have been there so, so much. It feels awful to think "I wish I had that to play with instead" but we certainly do. And all the rationalization (Those dogs aren't perfect or easy either. Your dogs are fully capable of being amazing and frequently are.) doesn't help at the time. Don't beat yourself up over it at all. Among other things, the more you do, the more likely you will pull your dogs down even more. Meg's a great barometer for me of my mood. I can't fake "happy" enough to keep her working well in agility. If I'm really that bummed out by how we are doing or anything else, we don't work. Period. Hopefully Mia just felt off herself and will be back to normal next time!

This. Go back and read the post I just wrote. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and wish your dogs were like the ones you see running but you have absolutely no idea the obstacles those teams have had to conquer. Each team is unique, each team has their own issues. What makes a great team is the ability to overcome those issues and be successful.

[SaraB]

Go Gusto!! That's awesome! I'm so glad he was successful in those ways.

[Shai]

Yay Gusto!

Also -- I miss training Cookie :'( We had just done our very first mini sequencing and she was thinking hard...and I finally found my key back so was introducing her to the superloud teeter at the club... gah

Mira & Webby are on break right now. Partially because there's no daylight and I'm totally exhausted from being up half of every night with the Cookster, and partially because I like to give them several weeks off at a time now and then (no agility practice) and just do cross training.

So I'm simultaneously exhausted and antsy from training deprivation...

[Beanie]

Baby P at the training building tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU3wx72sA1s

Need to clean the teeter up some more, he thinks it's faster to get on by hopping on it halfway. So I'm trying to reward both when he gets on it straight and when he exits. I really should decide if I want a 2o2o or not because I keep changing my mind and it's going to confuse him...
Some handling stuff at the end and also a blooper clip very last. I laugh every time I see it. I'm so mean.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by Beanie

Baby P at the training building tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU3wx72sA1s

Need to clean the teeter up some more, he thinks it's faster to get on by hopping on it halfway. So I'm trying to reward both when he gets on it straight and when he exits. I really should decide if I want a 2o2o or not because I keep changing my mind and it's going to confuse him...
Some handling stuff at the end and also a blooper clip very last. I laugh every time I see it. I'm so mean.

Awww Payton is very cute! Seems like such a happy guy and look at him tugging! Savvy says jumping on tunnels is soooo much fun and that Payton should keep trying

Have you done any bang game type stuff with him for the teeter? He's obviously a very willing boy but he does seem to be concerned about the teeter's movement and/or noise. I think that is likely what's causing him to hop on and off, thinking of bailing in the middle, wanting to start in the middle, be hesitant to enter, etc. He's also getting off of the board as quickly as possible in some of the reps and even when he isn't, he seems to not fully know what to expect in terms of the movement. It might help to weigh the base down, since it is moving quite a lot when the board goes down so that could be a contributing factor.