Agility Finkie!

Finkie_Mom

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#1
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 :D
 

MericoX

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#2
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

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#3
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.
 

Finkie_Mom

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#6
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).

Wow, major improvements, congrats :)
Thank you so much! Aside from having fun, improving a little bit each time is definitely the goal!
 

Finkie_Mom

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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
 

Finkie_Mom

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#9
Nice job! I love the background commentary in the first video. LOL.
Hahahaha yeah gotta love random conversations! :p

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

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#10
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 :D
 

Finkie_Mom

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#11
FINALLY had a good night! Our instructors were really complimentary and said that we should be in the higher-level classes (which was cool to hear!), but that they need to move some people around first. This current session doesn't end for another few weeks, so we will be in this class for at least that much longer.

Weaves (a bit slower than I like):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nHcGhUVhFA

Teeter (she used to be terrified of it but she did it 3 times tonight with no issues!):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUIzKu5UUJs

Another case of fast dog, slow handler:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CRdRa1zDJ0

More fast dog:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PWDz6MdtgY

We're getting there, I think!!!
 
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#12
Nice! Good job getting her over her teeter fear.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to advance too quickly though, a lot of time spent on solid foundation building will definitely pay off in the end. I like how your current class is running short sequences, more chances to reward and keep it fun for the dog!
 

Finkie_Mom

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#13
Nice! Good job getting her over her teeter fear.

I wouldn't be in a hurry to advance too quickly though, a lot of time spent on solid foundation building will definitely pay off in the end. I like how your current class is running short sequences, more chances to reward and keep it fun for the dog!
Thanks!!! I think what did it honestly was messing with my friend's tippy plank last week LOL. It's the only thing I've done differently since we last did the teeter in class, and she was somehow OK with the teeter this time around! That means I need a tippy plank... Or for my husband to build me a teeter :p

Hahaha I'm not in a hurry (well, MUCH of a hurry :p), but I am excited to get in to the higher classes and then trial. Some in my class are already trialing, but I think we have some more stuff to figure out before we take that leap. I'm going to wait until we are in the Monday night classes (the actual "competition" classes) to think about it seriously. Unless our trainers seriously suggest otherwise.

Yeah, I am in love with my trainers. The way they run things is just perfect and it really gets the dogs to love the game before putting too much stuff together. I have been to a couple of different clubs, and I must say that I'm most pleased with where we are right now. I even sit in on their foundations classes and am impressed!
 

Finkie_Mom

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#14
It's officially spring! There are birds living in the barn that we train in and therefore there are also bird eggs! So it proved to be a distraction to most of the dogs, and especially to Kimma. But she still did some good stuff.

I put these together because I did different things wrong each time LOL.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSpC8mprBMM

She did both of these runs just fine, but you can see her head going towards the ground a bit the second time.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPJOIFo5pVU

Aaaand I was asked why we aren't competing yet LOL. I have been thinking about it for the past day or so, and I think that I will set a goal time frame and stick to it. If we waited for ME to be ready, we would never do it haha. I get SOOO nervous! Even at class I get nervous sometimes! But at least this way I can see where we stand and it would give us more to work on. And by summer we should be up a class or two (I'm going to aim for July, as there is a local AKC trial then, I think). Ugh. Time to get a bit serious, I suppose!!!
 

MericoX

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#15
Find a CPE trial to hit. They are much more laid back than AKC/USDAA. Tsuki is hitting her first ever trial this month, and I have here entered in Fullhouse and Colors. Fullhouse you just run around collecting points (no course) and Colors usually has about 8 obstacles in it lol. I know we're not/she's not as good as Kiba, but she still needs trial experience at some point!

You guys are looking good!
 

Finkie_Mom

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Yeah, I'm trying to find some venues in our area to start out with. Another person recommended CPE to me as well. I'm going to talk to my instructors a bit more in depth after class this week and see what they say. I know my club is hosting a trial in May, so if we would be ready for that, that would be convenient. If not, I will just help out. Or maybe I can do a little of each LOL.
 

Finkie_Mom

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#17
Haven't updated this in a couple of weeks.... Kimma was a BRAT last week (4/11). She was all over the place. So we worked recall A LOT over the week following that class, and she was pretty good last Wednesday (4/18). I think we are going to hold off on trialing for a while, as I know that she will become ring-wise REAL QUICK. I'm aiming for fall now.

We are, however, moving up to the next class next session (starts middle of May) so that's exciting! They do more full courses, which I think will be good for us.

I didn't get any clips from her bad week (my friend couldn't come with to tape me), but here are a few from last Wednesday :)

I need to work on her automatic down on the table...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp1h1RvQ3p0

Her weaves are a bit slower than usual here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYntNK0sVF4

And here is some payoff for our recall work!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBeKobrxnfU
 

Finkie_Mom

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#18
OK so Kimma was a bit of a brat (well, actually a huge brat) at class, BUT she had SO MUCH FUN and had no fear of the Teeter and no issues with her running contacts! So I will take it. She also came right back when called if she got off track, which is much better than her old habit of completely blowing me off LOL.

This sequence was just plain pretty good:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcXWwsxHTQw

Weaves were open (we're the only ones that do straight poles all of the time so it's annoying to close them just for us - it's not so bad, but I can't wait for next class when they are closed always) but she did good:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFbiRXt1K2Q

No Teeter fear! But I screwed up at the end of the Frame which is why she went on to the Dog Walk LOL. But she got right back in to it!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=65CVBeM1KwQ

This one is just funny because she was like, "Chute? What's that???" And you hear everyone go "Ohhhhhh!!!" in unison hahaha. I love my class - we are always rooting for each other and everyone is just so nice :)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lUV25j-38s

Looking for some fun matches in the area to try out during the summer with the hopes of entering our first trial in the early fall :)
 

Finkie_Mom

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#19
So I haven't had anyone to come to class with me for a while, which is why I don't have any new videos. I also am in the midst of moving, which is why I can't take any of training sessions LOL. I will have to get on that again soon :p

Anyway, just wanted to update this with a bit of awesome news! We have been "promoted" up past a class, and will start up in an official Novice competition class for the next session! I'm bummed that we won't have the same trainers anymore (we will be on a different night altogether now), but I'm excited that they think we're improving enough to let us skip a level :)

We are also going to do a Show 'n Go on May 20, so that should be... Interesting... Hoping I can break out some of my equipment and practice a bit beforehand... It should be a good experience nevertheless! Hopefully I will be able to get someone to take some video for me then - even if it ends up poorly it will probably be super useful to see.
 

Finkie_Mom

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#20
I haven't updated in a couple of weeks because I thought I broke my dog (I wrote about it in the Agility Training thread in the Training section). That Show and Go we went to a couple of weeks ago was so bad. She did stuff, but was super stressed the whole time. And here I thought my dog would go crazy zooming around. She was displacement sniffing all over the place, whining, refusing contact equipment... It was crazy. I felt so bad for her. Then the next night we had our first competition class with a new instructor. That was also a disaster. She just acted like I wasn't there. So we did like one jump, reward. Tunnel, reward. A Frame, reward. Like we were super beginners. Then we had a couple of weeks off. I did LOTS of recall games, brought crate games back in to the training routine, and didn't do much of any agility training.

Fast forward to tonight...

She was AWESOME. Apparently not doing any agility is what she needs LOL. Here are the courses we ran tonight - she did them with only minor issues the first time around, and then PERFECTLY the second time. I couldn't believe it. My instructor was in shock LOL. Her weaves are still slow, but I think those will come back with time.



Of course I didn't have anyone there to tape me... But tonight gives me hope. We are also going to be riding the Show and Go circuit for a while to get her used to playing agility in different places. I think doing that will be worth it, though, especially seeing her run like she did tonight :)
 

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