Agility training

Beanie

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Auggie was entered in both jumpers and standard, both days, for his first trial. (At the time FAST wasn't a class yet.)

Payton is only entered in jumpers both days for his first trial, but part of that is because a) he's not solid on contacts yet and b) it's the local trial but it's indoors on their crappy floor and I really don't want to run my dogs on that floor. We are going just for fun and whatever happens happens. As long as he doesn't run out of the ring and pick a fight or something. For our next trial after that, at the end of July, he is entered in both JWW and standard both days... but I'm thinking of pulling him because of money issues. I entered him knowing if I didn't like how his contacts were I would pull him anyway.

The nerves get better. The first time I ran Auggie I was so nervous and I almost threw up on the teeter. No joke, I almost heaved in the ring. It took a good long while before I felt comfortable with it, but the last couple years of his career we just had fun with it. It didn't matter if we Q'd or not. I was just playing with my dog. I am freaking out about running Payton for a myriad of reasons, the biggest being that I am about to come smack in the face to the reality that I am running Payton now, and not Auggie, and I will probably never run Auggie again. And I don't want to face that. I have no idea how I'm going to feel when I'm actually there and on the line though. Nervous? Excited? Will I cry? I don't know. I'll find out soon enough...
 

AdrianneIsabel

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I entered Sloan in all classes at her first AKC, several or all at her first NADAC. Backup, maybe we'll try half of a class? :p

Really, I don't get nerves in agility, I reserve crippling ring nerves for obed mostly because even if I look like an ass I know my dogs are having a blast. Things may change if I get more competitive, lets hope not because I need a "let loose".
 

DenoLo

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I wasn't nervous, but I think Lolie gets ring nerves. Half the time she's perfectly fine, and the other half of the time she DOES everything, but it's like pulling teeth.

Well scratch that, I do always get a bit nervous that I'm going to get lost in the course. But that's my thing not the Lola dogs lol.
 

adojrts

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This thread has been killing me, folks training, folks trialing and having fun with their dogs. And doing so well :)

Here is The Punk at 7 months of age, learning wraps etc. This was our first time with me running and sending her to a tunnel.
We haven't been doing a lot of agility foundations training with equipment (about once a week now for a month) but working on her impulse control and OB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2kMHfqe_9Q&feature=youtu.be
 

Finkie_Mom

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I get nervous EVERY TIME. I still get nervous in class, too! One day it will get better I hope, as Kimma totally picks up on it. But I get nervous for any dog things, so it's not just reserved for agility.

For our first weekend out, I entered her Friday and Sunday both Standard and JWW each day. It ended up being the right decision for us, and now I feel pretty comfortable entering her in both classes a couple of days in a row. Not sure how I would feel about 3, but I haven't come to that yet :)

Oh I love that Moo. She's a good trainer :p

Punky looks so good! And you've given me some stuff to think about... When is it appropriate to teach wraps (what age/what prior training must be done)? How does everyone here teach them?
 

AdrianneIsabel

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This thread has been killing me, folks training, folks trialing and having fun with their dogs. And doing so well :)

Here is The Punk at 7 months of age, learning wraps etc. This was our first time with me running and sending her to a tunnel.
We haven't been doing a lot of agility foundations training with equipment (about once a week now for a month) but working on her impulse control and OB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2kMHfqe_9Q&feature=youtu.be
She looks awesome!!
 

SaraB

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Punky looks so good! And you've given me some stuff to think about... When is it appropriate to teach wraps (what age/what prior training must be done)? How does everyone here teach them?
This!! Punky looks awesome!!! <3 her so much.


Wraps are one of the first things I teach. Just wrapping a post, or a tree, or a cone, or a jump standard. They teach a lot of great things other than just wrapping such as sending, powering through a turn, directionals and handling. Wraps are awesome. I started Zinga on wraps at about 5 months I think? Obviously not over-doing it, short fun sessions centered around mostly play.
 

Laurelin

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I am feeling less nervous but still trying to decide if I want to enter one or two classes per dog. Y'all have fantastic advice! :D

Oh decisions.......
 

AdrianneIsabel

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hahahaha I couldn't resist this ribbon. We actually placed second but we were just short on points from a Q. He went nuts with zoomies and tunnel sucking while wasting some time but he got his contact on the Aframe (mom quick released, bad mom) and came together after some serious OMG YAY!

I'm not sure if I will run him in std but he's having fun, a ton of it, so that's all that matters.

Sloan ate it off the Aframe, not sure why, but she came out of it fine and reran (full house) and hit her contact just fine. She missed her weaves but his handling needs some soothing out to help her. She Q'd and took third.
 

Finkie_Mom

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This!! Punky looks awesome!!! <3 her so much.


Wraps are one of the first things I teach. Just wrapping a post, or a tree, or a cone, or a jump standard. They teach a lot of great things other than just wrapping such as sending, powering through a turn, directionals and handling. Wraps are awesome. I started Zinga on wraps at about 5 months I think? Obviously not over-doing it, short fun sessions centered around mostly play.
Oh yeah we are all about play here. OK I may try some stuff with him this week and see how he goes. Not that I'm running out of things to do with him, but starting wraps could be super fun.

I am feeling less nervous but still trying to decide if I want to enter one or two classes per dog. Y'all have fantastic advice! :D

Oh decisions.......
I honestly think that Kimma ran her second class on the first day a bit better. She was more used to the environment. But every dog is different obviously :)



hahahaha I couldn't resist this ribbon. We actually placed second but we were just short on points from a Q. He went nuts with zoomies and tunnel sucking while wasting some time but he got his contact on the Aframe (mom quick released, bad mom) and came together after some serious OMG YAY!

I'm not sure if I will run him in std but he's having fun, a ton of it, so that's all that matters.

Sloan ate it off the Aframe, not sure why, but she came out of it fine and reran (full house) and hit her contact just fine. She missed her weaves but his handling needs some soothing out to help her. She Q'd and took third.
OH BABY BACKUP. His face really makes that picture LOL. And yes, as long as he was having a good time, that's what matters. ...Right? :p

Congrats to Sloan! I hope she's OK after the Frame incident.
 

Julee

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BEST ribbon EVER.

I'm plotting a ring rental sometime soon. So excited. Anyone have DIY 2x2 plans? I'd imagine they're ridiculously simple, but I'm dumb, so.

Is it worth making all PVC weaves, or should I invest in a metal base?
 

DJEtzel

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BEST ribbon EVER.

I'm plotting a ring rental sometime soon. So excited. Anyone have DIY 2x2 plans? I'd imagine they're ridiculously simple, but I'm dumb, so.

Is it worth making all PVC weaves, or should I invest in a metal base?
I ordered weave spikes from amazon with riveted distance tape and LOVE THEM. I can do 2x2s or a full weave o matic style or full straight! The possibilities!
 

AdrianneIsabel

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I went ahead and pulled him, I tried STD and he was all over the place. Running, barking, the judge said he was having fun and laughed at me for "learning to drive on a Ferrari". I decided I may try tomorrow but he's not ready. His first run was fun but the second was too silly.

Sloan Q'd again and took second. I may run her in snookers since Denis doesn't want to and he'll take her back for jumpers.

I love my boy, he's so cray cray.
 

BostonBanker

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My dogs are so perfect :D

We had our "home" trial this weekend. I did pretty limited runs, because Meg does limited runs, and it was Gusto's first time back since his injury.

Meg of course was perfect. Of three runs, she got Qs in two (PIII Standard, and PIII Snooker). She earned her Snooker Bronze, and is now just one Q from her Standard Bronze. Her Saturday standard course was just so much fun. She was on that brink of too wild where I kept thinking "I am not going to be able to steer this dog", and yet responsive enough that she stayed clear. Yet another trial I went into thinking "I should let her retire, she's earned it", but she clearly isn't ready.

Gusto was just...amazing. I went in really wanting a Standard Q. He only needs one more to move into PII, and we didn't get it. But we didn't get it because both he and I are still on a learning curve. He had a great Gamblers run Saturday morning. One little moment where he went wide and kind of got lost, but he never got sniffy or disconnected, and he got the gamble easily. His Saturday standard course was a mess. I still need to figure out what he needs for a warm-up, and I think I got him out and kept him too "up" for too long. He was panting and slow and started stressing in the weaves, so we ran out of the ring over a jump or two and called it a loss. Even with the tired and hot, he didn't try to leave me or sniff. Just clearly said "I'm not into this right now".

Today was cooler and cloudier, and I had high hopes. He ran with me perfectly for the first half; the table lead directly into a tunnel under the a-frame, but the dogs had to take the a-frame. I oh-so-carefully led out from the table, positioned myself perfectly, and pushed him out so far around the a-frame he took the tunnel from the far side :eek: What a dork. He just got faster and more confident as the run went on, and had a set of smoking weaves.

It started raining around 11, and I wasn't sure about staying for jumpers, which of course was the last class of the day. Between all the "Don't run outside in the rain, it is abuse!" outrage and my own stress about "what will he do in the rain?", I wasn't sure, but I really did want to see how he handled it. The answer is "with gusto"! I think the fact that I barely warmed him up was actually what did it. He went right into his start line position, rather than being slow about it. He ran fast as soon as I released him, and just had a smooth, fast run. He needs some real work on tightening his turns, but I can't blame him for that - we've barely worked on it. He just did his job, happily and confidently. I'm still glowing.

I've got videos of a few runs coming in a couple of days, so I will force you all to watch them then. I was just so proud of my little guy I had to share immediately!
 

CaliTerp07

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Woohoo, good for you BB! Sounds like you learned a lot about your little guy, and had some really positive takeaways.

My little goober was AWESOME this weekend. The venue was inside/air conditioned, so neither of us melted, but I was terrified about having to crate inside (far too hot for car crating, unfortunately). She's been super reactive in such settings before, but she did really well this time.

My new philosophy comes a la Dory the Fish: "Just keep running, just keep running!" We don't fix ANYTHING. Popped weaves? Keep going. Missed jump? Take the next one. Wrong piece of the discrimination? Make up a course that flows from that obstacle. It has worked wonders on her focus and desire to play with me.

We didn't Q all day yesterday because she was popping weaves, but I promised I wouldn't fix them and I didn't. We Q'd jumpers at the end of the day (no weaves!) and again this morning. We have never Q'd the first run of the day--it's always a throw away. I need to find a way to tire her out on Fridays before trials. She's too crazy otherwise on Saturday mornings. Blew standard again because of weave poles, but Q'd chances, tunnelers, and hoopers. 4 Q's in a day is UNHEARD of for my booger.

Lucy came home with all kinds of pretty ribbons, and I came home with a strategy that is absolutely working, and a task to work on that I can totally do (weaves at speed. No popping when she's slow, but when she has two straight tunnels into a set of weaves, she struggles).

We're off for about a month now, so I have plenty of time to practice :)
 

BostonBanker

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What a great weekend for you! These learning curves can be frustrating, but it is so nice when you start to see things pay off. I know from experience how hard it is to NOT fix things, when you know you can still Q if you do, but not fixing on a dog who is stressing is such a smart move. I'm so happy that things are coming together for you guys. Congratulations!
 

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